Playing For Keeps
by gleestud
Summary: Future!Finchel. This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere". It's going to have quite a few chapters with a mix of fluff, angst, tragedy, smut and maybe some other stuff. The rating is going to stay at M now, things are going to get pretty dirty.
1. My Only Hope

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. It's not a Future!Finchel yet, but we're getting there.  
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He doesn't really remember the day that he decided he was going to marry Rachel Berry. It just happened. He remembers the day when he remembered that he had told himself he had thought about it before, but not anything before that. They were sitting in her room while she rambled on about how one day she was going to star in a production of RENT and she was going to blow the audience away with her rendition (Finn started memorizing the words she used so he could show off for her later) of "Out Tonight". He was half listening, because he was more focused on the way her face lit up as she talked about it and watched as she waved her hands around like a crazy person. He tried to say something to remind her that he was there, but every time he opened his mouth, she would say something else and he'd forget what he was going to say in the first place. Not that he cared really, because this was about her. But that evening after they had dinner with her fathers he had asked her to go for a walk with him because he needed some fresh air before he dropped the bomb on her. And in true Rachel Berry fashion, she launched into another one her big dreams. Finn was terrified that she'd forget that there was no proof that he would get into any of the big New York schools. All these plans she was making involved him sitting in the front row, beaming at her while she performed and then showing up backstage as the doting boyfriend with a bouquet of roses to show her that he cared. He just let her talk as they walked, their fingers linked together to remind her that he was really there. Most people would have lost their patience being around Rachel when she talked about herself like that, but for some reason listening to her voice was soothing for Finn. Sure, he never knew what she was talking about half the time, but the thought of her being there with him was really all that mattered.

"I can already see it, my name in big lights at my first show and you and my parents being there to watch me on stage and…"

"Rach?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk for a bit now?"

"Okay?"

"Not that I mind you talking, I just really need to say something."

"Finn… you're worrying me."

"No, it's nothing bad. I promise. I just need to…" Finn shook his head, smiling as he looked at her and pulled her to sit beside him on a bench, "I just need to say it."

"Okay."

"I love you…"

"I know, baby. I love you too."

"No, Rach, I'm not done."

"Oh! Sorry, please continue." He saw the hint of a smile mixed with absolute confusion on her face as she squeezed his hand. Finn swallowed hard and nodded, mostly to convince himself that he can say whatever it is that he needs to and wants to say.

"I want to marry you." The smile turns into shock and her hand goes limp in his and Finn has to fight the urge to say something more. He knows what's running through her head and a part of him wishes that he had worded that differently. If this had been Rachel, she would have rambled on for a bit before actually getting to the point, but he's not Rachel. Unfortunately. The shock stays on her face for a few more minutes and when she blinks and looks up at him, his shoulders slump. "Finn, that's a really huge step."

"I know," he takes a deep breath, preparing himself for the rest of his speech as she nibbles on her bottom lip and a part of him wishes she would stop doing that because it totally distracts him from what he's about to say. Moving one hand to her bottom lip, he tugs on it gently with his thumb and looks up at her, "That's really distracting."

"Sorry," a slight smile plays at the corner of her lips as she nods, "What were you going to say?"

"Right, of course," he clears his throat and nods, smiling as he runs his thumb over the back of her hand, "I was going to say that I know it's a really huge step, but look at how far we've come. I know that things were really shaky after the whole Santana issue and that I hurt you and that things changed for us after she told you what happened, but the fact that we were able to get back together after everything makes me believe that we're ready for this."

"Is that why you told Mr. Schuester you wanted to sing that Bruno Mars song at the wedding?"

"Partly, yeah," he smiles at the memory of that day. She had looked amazing in that red dress and even though the dark cloud known as Santana was hanging over his head, he knew that there was only one girl he wanted to be with for the rest of his life, "I have never been this happy in my life before and while things with Quinn were great and our relationship was a little screwed up from the start, it's always been you. I know that us going to New York together isn't settled yet, but I am doing my best to make sure I do come with you to New York. So we can live in an apartment together, go to school together, so I can watch your first Broadway show, bring you flowers at the end, walk around Times Square with you and do the whole New York thing with you. But I also want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"What if we don't go to New York together? What if you get into a school in Chicago, or right here in Ohio or worse, California?"

"We're strong enough to make long distance work," he takes her other hand, ignoring the nibbling of her bottom lip as he focuses on their hands, "I know it's not going to be easy, but I want this to work. I _need_ this to work because I know that when everything ends, I want to be with you."

"But, _what if_?"

"We'll figure it out. We have a few more months before we graduate and while I did get into schools in Chicago and San Diego, maybe I'll hear back from something in New York."

"How are you always so positive about this?"

"Because it made me realize that losing you is not really worth it. I did it so many times before and it took me every single time to realize that without you, I'm not myself. I know it sounds like a Hallmark card or whatever, but you're my other half. Without you, I'm pretty much a nobody. I might be the captain of the football team and the co-captain of the Glee club and I might be popular and whatever, but none of that matters if you're not there."

He watches her process all of this and he's actually very impressed with the way he's laid it out for her. It's the truth; he's not sugar coating anything just to make her believe him. That's the one thing he's learned about their relationship – sugar coating things for Rachel always ends up badly. The truth hurts sometimes, but that's exactly what she needs. Every single time.

"Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"Okay, we'll get married."

"Wow."

"What?"

"You didn't ask me about a ring, or when we're getting married, or where, or how or anything."

"Finn, I've been planning my wedding since I was old enough to make scrapbooks. I already have everything planned out."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Don't mock me, Finn Hudson!"

"I'm not mocking you, baby, I'm just stating the obvious," he smiles as she pokes him and nods, "Do I feature in this scrapbook?"

"Maybe somewhere around page ten or something."

"How many pages are there?"

"Each detail gets a page, just so that when I finally have to plan my wedding, all I need to do is hand it over to the wedding planner and everything is right there for them to look at."

"How many pages do I get?"

"I'm not telling you that."

"Guess I'll just have to find out for myself then."

"You're never going to find my wedding scrapbook."

"You mean the pink one with the picture of you and me at Mom's wedding pasted on the front, tied up with a golden ribbon with 'Mr. and Mrs. Hudson' written across the front?"

"Finn!" she smacks him on the arm and Finn slides away laughing loudly as he shakes his head, "That's what I thought."

"How did you find it?"

"Your dad asked me to get some photo album from when you were a baby and I found it."

"I can't believe you didn't mention it before!"

"I wanted to, but then I thought I'd wait for the right moment."

"You're terrible."

"You love me more for it."

"Unfortunately, you're right." 

He walks her back to her house, kisses her on the doorstep and tells her that he'll pick her up for school the next day. He really wants to stay the night, watch her fall asleep in his arms as he thinks about what their wedding is really going to be like, but he promised his mother he'd be home before midnight and it's already way past his curfew. She pouts when he tells her he can't stay, because he knows that with this wedding information in hand, Rachel Berry has some interesting things for them to do. He also knows about her list of things they have to try before they go away to college, only because they're not sure if they're going to be in the same city. It's a pink sheet, a mile long, printed off her pink printer, laminated and stuck in her bedside table. It's got almost 200 things on it and while she tells him it's her bucket list, he knows better. It's her _Bucket List of Sex Positions_. She doesn't scratch stuff off of it because it will mess up the lamination, she just keeps another sheet of paper with it to scratch of the numbers they've done. He knows her whole routine when she wakes up in the morning, thinking that he's fast asleep. It amuses him that his girlfriend has a Bucket List of Sex Positions, a very interesting list at that. He will never mention it, not like the wedding scrapbook with their heads pasted over random bride and groom pictures. This is one thing that Finn Hudson is going to keep to himself. Even after they get married.


	2. Let That Be Enough

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. It's not a Future!Finchel yet, but we're getting there._

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They just sat there, holding hands, staring at the different envelopes, trying to figure out which one to open first. There were three from New York, four from California, two from Ohio and three from Chicago. To say that Finn was scared would be understatement. He was _terrified. _There was no way this was going to go the way they wanted it to. He'd been sitting at the kitchen table for an hour before Rachel had surprised him, bringing another batch of banana bread and when he didn't respond or kiss her hello, she had just sat there with him and chewed on her bottom lip, humming a song that he'd never heard before. He snuck one glance at her before focusing on the envelope covered table and blinked quickly before dropping his head onto the table with a loud _thud_.

"Finn!"

"I'm okay," sitting up, he rubbed his forehead and winced, "That really hurt."

"Don't touch it, I'll get ice," he nodded as she let his hand go and blinked back the tears from the pain as she returned with ice wrapped in a towel. He closed his eyes as she moved her hand to the back of his neck, steadying his head as the other hand guided the towel to his forehead. Flinching as the cold towel met the bump, Finn whimpered. But Rachel wasn't having any of it, "Behave yourself!"

"It's cold and I'm in pain."

"Quit being a baby. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't used your head to knock on wood."

"It hurts," he pouted, turning his head a little to look at her. There were tears in her eyes and Finn knew they weren't from feeling sorry for him for bashing his head, but they were tears of fear. What if they got into two different schools, far away from each other? What would happen to them then? He might have promised forever for them and told her that nothing and no one would come between them, but how much of what Finn promised her was really in their control. Gently stroking her cheek as a tear rolled over his thumb, Finn closed his eyes and moved her hand away from his forehead, "I should open something."

"Wait…"

"What?"

"Pick something from California."

"Why?"

"We'll save New York for the end."

"Isn't that what we're supposed to open first?"

"I don't want us to be disappointed right at the start."

"Rachel, that is some seriously flawed logic."

"Just trust me, Finn. Open something from the other side of the country and we'll work our way East."

"Are you sure?" she just nodded, gently pressing the towel back against his forehead as he stretched his arm out to reach for the first California envelope. They had already discussed how the weight and size of the envelope would tell him whether he got in or not. But that conversation had led to the weight and size of Finn Jr. and that conversation had been abandoned just about as fast as Rachel's grandma panties, leaving everything about college applications hanging over their heads like some kind of secret. But now there would be no getting distracted by sex, no fooling around on the kitchen floor, no getting dragged to the laundry room for a quick spin. Now it was just the two of them and a kitchen table covered in college acceptance or rejection letters.

He took a deep breath and ripped the envelope open, closing his eyes as he pulled out the letter.

Four hours later, Rachel was sitting on the kitchen counter, sipping on juice while Finn sat in the opposite corner, his legs stretched out in front of him on the floor. He couldn't look at her and while he was fully aware of her eyes focused on him, he couldn't bring himself to look up at her. He knew that at some point he needed to look her in the eye and say that everything was going to be okay. That they'd make it through whatever was coming their way. But he couldn't. California and New York were hours and time zones apart. There was no way he could be at her doorstep every single second of the day. He couldn't curl up in bed with her on the nights she was cold, or the days that she didn't do well on an audition. He couldn't look into those chocolate brown eyes and tell her that she'd nail the next audition. He couldn't collapse on her couch after a long football session. And just like that, he couldn't open his eyes to look at her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. In theory everything seemed so easy. In theory, Finn Hudson had their lives planned out just the way Rachel Berry wanted it planned out. In theory, Finn Hudson was going to be studying in New York. Theory fucked them over and now they were stuck with this huge gap between them. Part of the reason he was sitting so far away from her was because he needed to get used to the distance. This was nothing because he could hear her sniffling and sucking loudly on the straw to get every last drop of juice out of the box. Other than that, the house was silent and Finn was praying that someone would just walk through the door and ease the tension between the two of them. He knew that they had to talk about it eventually, but right then he was in too much of a mess to form full sentences. And especially the kind of sentences that would make this whole thing seem a lot better than it really was. "Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to sit there all night?"

"Yes."

"Baby, please talk to me."

"I am talking to you."

"No, about what just happened."

"I can't…"

"Finn, please."

"California and New York, that's all."

"You told me that no matter happened, we could do it."

"I know we can, I'm just scared."

"Of what?"

"Losing you."

"Finn, please look at me."

"I can't…" He felt her in front of him and when her hands touched his legs, Finn flinched without thinking. He felt her move away and while she wasn't touching him anymore, he could hear her breathing right there in front of him, "Finn, I'm scared too. But if you don't look at me how are we going to fix this?"

"There's nothing to fix, Rachel. We're studying on different coasts."

"You _promised_ that we could make this work."

"I'm going to keep that promise, but you understand when I say that it scares me anyway, right?"

"Think of it this way, we'll see each other every few months. It's not like we'll never see each other."

"You'll really come to California?"

"Only to see my boyfriend, of course."

Before he could respond, the kitchen door swung open and his mom and Burt walked in, carrying grocery bags the size of Rachel and everything else was forgotten. Carole Hudson-Hummel spent a few minutes staring at the open envelopes and then looked at Finn, with her big grin on her face. Burt was in shock and while Finn caught a glimpse of Rachel wiping her tears, he couldn't help but smile back at his mother. College in California, on a full ride football scholarship, it was time for celebrations.

But Rachel had to go. And Finn didn't stop her even when she turned around at the front door and blew him a kiss.

Dinner was exciting, not for Finn really, but for everyone else. His mom couldn't stop talking about how amazing California would be when they came to visit and how he'd change and grow into himself and Finn tuned her out after she started squealing with all the excitement. He was glad that neither his mother or Burt had noticed him pushing the peas around on his plate. He was starving, but he couldn't bring himself to eat. He had Rachel's face printed on his brain and it hurt to know that she was holding on for him to make their relationship work. She wasn't going to give up on him, he knew that because after the Santana and Puck fiasco, she was the one who fought to get him back in her life. He wasn't letting go, there was no chance of that, but the distance scared him. Finn knew that at some point he'd have to calculate the distance between New York and California if he was going to be make a million trips a year, but right then, he was calculating the distance between his front door and Rachel's house.

Not too far.

He didn't excuse himself from the table, he didn't say a single word, Finn just stood up, grabbed his hoodie, car keys and walked out the front door. He stared at his car for a few minutes and then gave up, deciding to just walk it. He needed the fresh air, he needed to breath before he got to the Berry house. His eyes were watering and a part of him wondered if he was really crying, or if it was the cold breeze hurting his eyes. Adjusting his hoodie over his head, Finn forced a smile as he passed the Thompson family, pushing their sleeping triplets in a large baby pusher. He didn't know why New York didn't want him, but he knew that this was God playing a trick on him. God was punishing him for not believing after the whole grilled cheesus thing. God didn't want Finn and Rachel to enjoy the next four years together. For a split second, Finn hated God.

He stopped across the street from the Berry house and stared up at Rachel's window. The light was on, but there was no movement. He breathed through his nose, pushing the hoodie back a little before crossing the road to her house. Pulling his sleeve down over his fingers, Finn knocked on the door gently. He took a step back as he waited for someone to answer it. He heard shuffling of feet, followed by Rachel's infectious giggle and then when she pulled the door open, the giggle died and her eyes lit up. "You came."

"I'm sorry, Rachel."

"For what?"

"For not crossing my fingers and toes hard enough. For not praying hard enough. For not fighting for New York hard enough."

"Finn," she stepped out, pulling her jacket on as she shut the door behind her, "You couldn't have done anything more than you did. You applied to New York, for me. And it's their loss for not taking you, but it's not your fault."

"I feel like I didn't try hard enough to make New York work."

"Trust me, you tried more than enough. I was there with you when you printed out applications for every school in the city."

"Maybe that wasn't enough." Finn sighed, shaking his head as Rachel chuckled softly, biting her bottom lip, "Babe, this isn't funny."

"Yeah, it is," pulling him towards her, Rachel rested her hands on his chest. He was glad that he wasn't standing on the step, not that it made that much of a difference, but this was so much more comfortable, "I'm supposed to be the one that's whining and crying and making a fuss about you not getting into New York. And here you are, pouting and scowling about how you didn't try hard enough."

"I still don't get how that's funny."

"I love you, Finn Hudson, and no matter where in the world we might be, we can make this relationship work. You fought for me once, I fought for you once and now we just have to fight for each other together."

"Okay."

"Good. Because I've already looked through the temporary schedule on the Columbia website and I have marked out dates when you can visit me in New York and dates when I can visit you in California. And I'm sure that UCSD and Columbia have similar holiday patterns, so it's not like I'm going to mess up your football practices or your social life."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"There's this boy who likes telling me that once in a while."

"Looks like I'll have to spend the next few months fending this boy off, because you're all mine and I've never been good at sharing."

"That's fine with me, I don't really like sharing either."

"Great," Finn kissed her softly, moving one hand to cup her cheek as she kissed him back, "I should probably go home, I left mom and Burt at the kitchen table mid celebrations."

"Think you could go home a little later? There's something I want to show you."

"Is it pink and sexy?"

"More like pink, sexy and if you slide it off, it gets that much sexier."

"Oh," Finn licked his lips, pulling her against him for another kiss, "How could I refuse an offer like that. Lead the way, Miss Berry."

"You should probably start referring to me as the future Mrs. Hudson, it's a total turn on."

Growling softly, Finn kissed her again, mumbling against her lips, "Lead the way, future Mrs. Hudson.


	3. Head Over Heels

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. It's not a Future!Finchel yet, but we're getting there._

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It's been a month since they've been apart and Finn feels like he's missing a limb. It feels all kinds of strange and even though he's attempting to keep it together, the more time he spends on campus, the more he misses Rachel. And he doesn't call her every second of every day, like she told him to, because he knows that she's really having a good time in New York. So he makes friends and works on his football, because he's there for a very _specific _purpose. But he's still finding it hard to get into the groove of things. However, finding himself a best friend replacement proved to be a lot easier than Finn thought. The best thing about Jared, his psychotic roommate, is that he's just like Puck. If Jared shaved his head and grew out a Mohawk, he would totally work as Puck's long lost brother. And on some strange level, Finn finds it comforting that his roommate/new friend is just like his brother from another mother. They bond over everything from girls, to beer, to football and a whole lot of other things that go along with it. Of course Finn gets made fun of because of the whole Rachel thing and keeping a long distance relationship going, but by the time they get into the hang of their friendship, Jared understands what it is about Rachel that Finn loves so much and why long distance is worth every penny he spends on his phone.

She taught him how to use Skype, because she felt that while they could have all the romantic phone calls in the world sometimes it made sense to just see each other. Of course Finn thought that he would be able to touch her through the screen, like that movie he saw, but the more he poked his screen, the more he irritated Rachel. But she managed to keep her cool and suggested that they should Skype once a week, using the rest of the time to just talk on the phone. Which was fine by him, because he couldn't really lie in bed with his laptop and talk to her for hours on end. That was another thing that Finn was amazed by, talking for more than an hour on the phone. Before Rachel, Finn didn't give a crap about his phone and spent so much time pretending like it wasn't ringing in his pocket. But now the minute his phone starts ringing, Finn is leaping out of his seat and answering it. On more than one occasion Jared has given him the stink eye for scaring the crap out of him. But he can't help it, its instinct to not keep Rachel waiting more than two rings. Because he knows that more than two rings and she'll instantly think that something happened to him. Jared likes telling Finn that he's having a relationship with his phone. Which isn't too far from the truth, but it's not like he can really help it.

**(Rachel 12:45)** You won't believe what happened today!

**(Rachel 12:46)** Finn?

**(Rachel 12:48)** FINN!

**(Finn 12:59)** yeah?

**(Rachel 13:00)** That's all you have to say? Yeah?

**(Finn 13:02)** Jared had my phone, I was rushing to class.

**(Rachel 13:04)** Why did Jared have your phone?

**(Finn 13:06)** because he needed to call his new girlfriend.

**(Rachel 13:08)** Finn, I'm not very comfortable with Jared using your phone to set up his play dates.

**(Finn 13:10)** why not?

**(Rachel 13:13)** Because those girls could totally think that you're interested in them.

**(Finn 13:15)** trust me; girls at school know that I have a girlfriend.

**(Rachel 13:16)** That's never stopped anyone before.

**(Finn 13:18)** come on, sandy was drunk, it wasn't like I could just leave her there.

**(Rachel 13:20)** Fine, whatever.

**(Finn 13:22)** don't be angry, babe, you know you're the only one for me.

**(Rachel 13:24)** As ridiculous as you sound, I have to admit that it's incredibly cute having you say that.

**(Finn 13:26)** of course, anyway, what happened today?

**(Rachel 13:30)** So you did see my text.

**(Finn 13:32)** yup, when I went back through my inbox.

**(Rachel 13:35)** I met with a theatre company and I had an impromptu audition and I might get a chance to be on Broadway before I graduate!

**(Finn 13: 37)** that is amazing, baby. I'm so proud of you!

**(Rachel 13:40)** It's not final or anything, they called me back for a second round, so let's see how that goes!

**(Finn 13:42)** you'll get it; you were born for the stage, right?

**(Rachel 13:44)** What would I do without you always believing in me?

**(Finn 13:46)** I always ask myself that, when I figure out the answer I'll let you know.

**(Rachel 13:48)** Very funny. Can I ask why you only start your texts with caps if there is an _I_ involved?

**(Finn 13:50)** my phone does that for me, it's very fancy like that.

**(Rachel 13:53)** My point is why don't you capitalize all the first letters?

**(Finn 13:56)** because I'm in class and I can't really pay attention to both at one time.

**(Rachel 13:58)** Good to know that you're still not paying attention in class.

**(Finn 14:06)** I am totally paying attention in class, we're studying about the rise and fall of the market and how it will affect all of us in the future.

**(Rachel 14:12)** Is your teacher hot?

**(Finn 14:20)** if you're into old dudes with hair coming out of their nose and ears, then yeah, he's smoking hot.

**(Rachel 14:21)** Ew.

**(Finn 14:22)** you asked. ;)

**(Rachel 14:24)** I miss you.

**(Finn 14:26)** I miss you too, Rach. Like a lot.

**(Rachel 14:27)** Good. :*

**(Finn 14:30)** what is that supposed to be, because I just spent the last few minutes trying to decipher it.

**(Rachel 14:32)** It's me blowing you a kiss and look at you using big words in texts.

**(Finn 14:34)** this girl I know told me that big words are a huge turn on.

**(Rachel 14:35)** This girl you know is very right. She also wants to know how much longer you're going to be in class.

**(Finn 14:40)** for about another 20 minutes, after which I have three more classes and football practice.

**(Rachel 14:42)** I hate being so far away from you and not knowing your schedule by heart.

**(Finn 14:46)** I got the full one, so I'll send it to you when I get home tonight.

**(Rachel 14:49)** I like the sound of that. I love you, Finn.

**(Finn 14:52)** I love you, Rach. I'll text you when I get home, even if you will be asleep.

**(Rachel 14:55)** It's nice to wake up to text messages from you, so I'll look forward to it.

**(Finn 14:58)** great. :D have a good rest of the day, babe.

**(Rachel 15:02)** I will and I'll talk to you tomorrow. :*

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**From: **_Rachel Berry_

**To: **_Finn Hudson_

**Subject:** Re: my life right now

Dear Finn,

Your schedule actually scares me a little, because I was under the impression that I would be spending most of my time either buried under books or rehearsing. But your schedule is full. When do you even get the time to sleep? And I know how much you love sleeping. Please tell me you're eating healthy through all of this…. I can't be up all night worrying about if you've eaten all your meals or not. I know that I will do that anyway, but I really need you to look after yourself since neither I or your mother are there to help you get your fruits and veggies in.

I won't send you my schedule because it might actually make you jealous, but I will tell you that all the free time I have (which is not really all that much) is spent thinking about you. I was talking to Christina, even if she insists that I call her Chris, about plans for us and she said that I should come visit you when we get the next weekend off. I don't have classes for two weeks because most of the students in my class are going to be performing in various productions across the city. I will be going to see every single show, but I also will be sparing some time to come visit you. I already have the money and everything sorted out, I just need to get myself a plane ticket and I'm all yours for the weekend. Thank you for also mentioning when you have parties that you _just have no choice but to attend_, because as per my plans, I'm coming there during one of those party weekends. I'm sure you can spare a few hours for me, right?

It's really late here, I should probably be getting to bed soon because I have an early class tomorrow followed by a few more auditions on Broadway. I know that while my luck is terrible right now, it's going to get better with time. And one day, I will be on that stage, performing to a full house with you right up front, looking up at me adoringly.

I love you, Finn.

* Rachel 

**From: **_Finn Hudson_

**To: **_Rachel Berry_

**Subject:** Re: re: my life right now

Hey babe,

my schedule scares me too. i sometimes wonder how i actually get through the day without wanting to shoot myself. i didn't think college would be this hard. isn't it supposed to be a good mix of fun and something else? i feel like i have about five minutes of fun a day. i am sleeping. well not a lot, but enough, because i can't function straight if i don't get all the sleep im supposed to get. of course with someone like Jared living with me, it's impossible to really get a lot of sleep. he has a new girl over every night. i tried telling him to like warn me in advance, so i can go stay with joe... but he never remembers.

so you're coming to visit me soon. that's exciting news. i promise to put my 'parties i have to attend' aside for you. it's not every day that i get to spend with my future wife, right?

sorry that i took so long to reply to your email, you're probably sitting there staring at your inbox... better yet, you've probably already refreshed it a 1000 times because you were wondering when i was going to respond to your email. here it is. i got home really late because of a football thing and i passed out, i didn't even get to check my phone. you're going to do fine at your next few auditions, you're rachel berry, and you can make anything happen. and yes, i will be there, looking up at you adoringly. i promise.

i love you too, rachel.

all my love (see, i used that line)

finn. 

**From: **_Rachel Berry_

**To: **_Finn Hudson_

**Subject:** Re: re: re: my life right now

Please use capitals in all the right places, Finn. That is one of the many things that we were taught at school.

Love,

* Rachel 

**From: **_Finn Hudson_

**To:** _Rachel Berry_

**Subject:** Re: re: re: re: my life right now

Okay, I'll keep that in mind next time. I have to go for practice now, babe, so maybe after that we can Skype? Since I finally remember my password, which you should be totally proud of me for.

Love,

Finn 

**From:** _Rachel Berry_

**To: **_Finn Hudson_

**Subject:** I love you.

I can do that. I have a late audition tomorrow, before class, so we can Skype after that.

Love,

* Rachel


	4. We Are One Tonight

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. Future!Finchel._

_

* * *

_

The amount of planning that goes into this visit amazes Rachel because while she's always been one for big plans and big gestures, she's actually impressed with herself. So much so that once she had finished making all her notes, she sat at her desk and patted herself on the back with a big grin. Finn was going to be not just surprised, but he was going to love her more for doing whatever it was that she was planning on doing. She hadn't told anyone what her plans were, not even her fathers or Carole or Burt, she just put everything down on paper and now she was following through with it. The minute she got her schedule, she had started making a list of things that she could do. Go home and spend time with her fathers, visit Carole and Burt, go see Quinn in Chicago or just spend the week in New York doing nothing but watching every Broadway show that she could. She had saved up a lot of money from her after school job at the coffee shop on campus and while it wasn't much, she had happily dipped into her wedding fund and put all the money together because this was going to be her first big gesture for Finn. She spent a week packing her bags, making all the arrangements necessary to go through with the big production and when the day finally came, Rachel Berry had a bad case of the butterflies.

The only person she was in touch with through this whole thing was Jared, Finn's flat mate, because she knew that whatever said and done, Jared needed to be completely in the loop. Especially since as part of Rachel's plan, Jared had to be somewhere else that night. Plus, she needed someone to pick her up from the airport. She was more than fine making her own way to the apartment, but this was her first time in San Diego and the last thing she wanted was to get lost on her way to surprise her boyfriend with a meal and some really needed sex. Jared was more than happy to play chauffer and tour guide and while he was really wanting to go back to bed and the naked girl lying in it waiting for him, Rachel made him take her all the way to the store so she could pick up all the things she needed to make sure the night went off without a hitch. She could see that Jared liked her, either she impressed him with her bright smile and bubbly personality, or Finn really hadn't stopped talking about her since they started living together. And she was using Jared as a way to see what Finn's life was like without her and she could see that he was being careful about the things he said, because he didn't want Rachel to see the _other_ life that Finn led. Of course, there was only so much you could hide from Rachel Berry, because she prided herself on having the talent to read people without them even realizing it. So as not to give Jared any hint of her knowledge that he was making a lot of it up, she nodded politely and smiled at all the right times.

Her only problem with the boy was that he reminded her so much of Noah that sometimes she wondered if Finn had a trend in picking best friends.

Rachel let Jared have his few hours with his current girlfriend while she unpacked her things and pretended not to hear all the crazy sounds and noises coming from the room next door. She spent the whole time locked up in Finn's room, taking in the sights of the space her boyfriend – correction, _fiancée_ – lived in and was impressed that he had a picture of them sitting on his bedside table. Along with a picture of her stuck on the wall above his desk. And every little gift she had ever given him – the papier-mâché football she made at some fair, a strip of her precious gold stars, the lapel flower from the Hudson-Hummel wedding, a stuffed teddy bear wearing his jersey number she won at the winter fair in Lima and a few other things – placed all over the room. While her room was far more organized than this, Rachel found herself crying at how hard he tried to keep his room in order. Except for his unmade bed, the rest of the room was impeccable. She stripped the sheets, found fresh ones in his tiny walk-in closet and re-made the bed while she hummed to drown out the sounds of Jared and his girlfriend thanking God for everything. It had always bothered her that Finn could hear what was going on in Jared's room, because she thought it was uncomfortable to be in the room next door to someone who couldn't keep his volume down every other night. And she had spent so many nights talking to Finn while he forced himself to sleep. But now she knew just what her boyfriend was talking about. Rolling her eyes as the girl asked Jared if he had anymore condoms, Rachel surveyed the room and put her suitcase under the bed, making sure that nothing was out of place. Proud of her work, she pulled out her list and got to work.

It was another one of those days, especially since he had missed his first two classes due to over sleeping and while he couldn't really blame Rachel for not waking him up, Finn really wished that she had at least texted him because he was sure that that would have woken him up at the very least. But he couldn't hold her responsible, she had been so good about waking him up his freshman year, this was just a slip up. And Finn knew just how busy Rachel was all the time, he would have been amazed if she had actually managed to call him and wake him up between all her classes and running around for auditions. He had called Jared to check and make sure that his new girlfriend was gone before he got home and while he assured him that Cassandra, or whatever her name was, was gone, he wasn't at home either. If Finn had been paying attention to Jared's voice, instead of trying to multi-task, he might have figured out that something else was going on. But he went to practice, focused as hard as he could given that his mind was fully focused on Rachel as it always was during football practice and when practice had wrapped up, he felt like he could pass out right there on the field and get Jared to come get him later during the day so he could crawl back into his unmade bed and sleep the rest of the weekend away. But if he didn't pick up his phone in an hour when Rachel called, she would think he was dead and that wouldn't go over so well with anybody. He wasn't in the mood for a fight, especially with Rachel.

Letting himself into the house, Finn frowned as he smelled food. Shutting the door and making a big noise about his return home so that whoever was breaking in and cooking would get the hint and run away, Finn dropped his keys in the bowl by the door and narrowed his eyes at the kitchen door, waiting for something to happen. "Hello?" The stirring that went along with the soft music from the radio stopped and Finn inhaled sharply as he kept his eyes fixed on the door, watching the shadow move towards it. His breath caught in his throat and his jaw hit the floor as he looked at his girlfriend – no, fiancé – standing against the door in the sexiest pink lacy thing he had ever seen.

"Hey baby."

"Wow."

"You like?" Finn tilted his head as she did a tiny twirl, exposing her back to him and he swallowed hard, dropping his bag to the floor as he licked his lips, "Very much, yeah."

"You look really nice too."

"Thanks, what are you doing here?"

"Surprising you and if I might say so myself, it's working wonderfully."

"Yeah, it is," chuckling softly, Finn moved towards her, letting his eyes travel down her body to her never ending legs and then back to her face, "I missed you so much."

"I know, I missed you too." Leaning against the wall, Rachel ran her fingers down the front of his t-shirt, bunched it up at the bottom and pulled him towards her, "Did you cook us dinner?"

"But that can wait, I have better things on my mind right now."

Resting one hand on her hip, Finn set the other on the wall beside her and smiled as he gently pressed himself against her, "Explains why Jared's not home."

"I like him, even if he reminds me so much of Noah, he's quite the gentleman."

"He does have his moments."

"Finn," sliding her hands up his t-shirt, she traced the outline of his abs, biting down on her bottom lip as she looked up at him through her lashes, "Can we please stop talking about your flat mate?"

"How about we talk about how fucking sexy you look right now?"

"Or how I'm not wearing any panties at all," growling as she purred the word _panties_, Finn picked her up and pressed her against the wall, his lips finding hers in a heated kiss. Smiling against her lips as she hitched her legs around his waist, Finn used one hand to hold her and the other to push her pink lacy thing up so that there wasn't much in the way. Shifting her in his arms gently as she rested her hand on the back of his neck, deepening the kiss, he moaned softly against her lips as she used her other hand to push down his shorts and boxers. Stepping out of them, Finn moved his hand up her side, cupping her boob and sucked on her bottom lip. Gently kneading her boob, Finn rolled his hips against hers and slipped his tongue into her mouth as she parted her lips for him. He heard her moan his name and moving his other hand to her butt, he entered her hard, causing her to growl in response. Wincing as her fingers dug into the back of his neck, Finn pushed harder into her, keeping a steady rhythm as he moved his lips down her jaw to her neck. Growling unhappily as his phone started ringing, he heard Rachel whimper something, but ignored the phone and focused on getting her to make all his favorite noises. Sucking on her jaw, Finn moaned happily as she pushed her fingers through his hair and tugged on it gently, "Baby…"

"Ignore it, Rach."

"It's not stopping, Finn and it's driving me crazy," he moved his lips to hers as she inhaled sharply, "And not in a good way."

"I can't really get it right now."

"Yeah you can, I promise it'll be better once you're done talking to whoever is dying to talk to you."

"Can I please just stay like this, whoever it is can call me later. You're going to be gone in a few days."

"You can stay like this the whole time I'm here, baby, but please answer the phone."

Rachel smoothed down her baby doll, running a hand through her hair as she watched Finn rummage through his bag for his phone. She couldn't believe she had just stopped him right in the middle of what they were doing so he could stop his phone. Whoever was calling better have had something important to tell him because if it was one of his drinking buddies, Rachel was going to clobber them to death when she finally met him. They'd never been in a _bad timing_ situation before and right now was not the time to do this. Rachel Berry might have been a prude for the longest time, but once she got a taste of Finn Hudson she couldn't stop wanting more. So much so that when they were done talking on the phone or via Skype, she sometimes lay in bed touching herself in hopes of making herself feel half as good as Finn did every time they were together. Looking at him once more, over her shoulder, Rachel smiled to herself and walked back to the kitchen. She checked on the pasta, humming softly as she bounced on the balls of her feet to the beat in her head.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Whaaat? Can't I call my best friend up and have a quick chat?"

"Not when he's busy making up for lost time with his girlfriend."

"Oh, fuck," Finn growled as Puck chuckled, "Dude, did you literally pull yourself out of her to answer the phone?"

"Puck?"

"Finn."

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I was planning a road trip to see my girl and figured you'd wanna come with and we can make a full blown road trip out of it."

"You waited till 10 at night to call me when I spoke to you this afternoon about you coming to California to see me?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You better re-think your California trip if that's all you have to say."

"Go stick your dick back in your girl," rolling his eyes as he walked back to the kitchen, naked, Finn leaned against the door and watched Rachel dancing around at the stove, "And give her my love."

"Fuck you." As he hung up, put the phone off and tossed it on the pile of clothes on the floor, Finn tip-toed to Rachel and turned the fire off. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her against him and moved his lips down her neck, gently sucking on her skin. "Who was it?"

"Puckerman."

"Seriously?"

"Mhm," gently nipping on her skin, he turned her around in his arms and covered her mouth with his as she moved a hand down his chest and stomach before wrapping her fingers around his length, "What did he want?"

"We're not talking about Puck while you've got a death grip on me like that."

"I'm not letting go till you tell me."

"He wants to do a road trip to Chicago and New York later this year."

"And what did you say?"

"Fuck you?" Groaning as Rachel tightened her grip around his length, Finn rested his forehead on her shoulder, "I'll repeat the question, what did you say?"

"I'd call him later."

"Better," stroking him gently, Rachel moved her lips up his jaw and sucked on his earlobe. Finn sighed happily feeling her breath on his neck as he moved his hands to her butt. Tilting his head a little, Finn smiled as Rachel tugged on his earlobe with her teeth, before the feeling of her breath on his ear as she spoke distracted him, "Finn?"

"Yeah baby?"

"_Fuck me, please._"


	5. Hello Hurricane

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. Future!Finchel._

_

* * *

_

Puck comes to visit him and for the first time since Rachel's visit, Finn is really excited about seeing someone from Lima. Of course, this is Puck, which means that Finn has to find out about every party in town, worm his way into the bar scene so they can get shitfaced and spend hours playing Halo without even trying to pass a level. And because this is his best friend, Finn goes all out and makes everything happen the way Puck would want it to be. Sometimes Finn would just sit down and wonder how he and Puck even became best friends. They were the two most different people in the world, with only football and Glee club in common. And even then, they still didn't have all that much in common with each other. But they seemed to get along and while Puck spent a good part of his life judging Finn for the things he did, somewhere along the way they found common ground. Even if the common ground was Quinn for a while, but whatever it was, something brought them together. When they were kids, it was so much easier. Being six and wanting to play football in the streets, or steal candy from the store, or talk about how every girl in their grade had cooties was easy. They didn't need to have anything in common, just the same beliefs about how girls were gross and candy was awesome. But growing up together, it became clear that they weren't really cut out to be best friends. Everybody saw that and everybody pointed it out. Including his mother. But they were best friends and best friends did stuff like this.

_**xxx**_

"Please be careful, Finn."

"Nothing's going to happen, babe."

"This is Noah we're talking about, you _never_ know what will happen when you're with Noah."

"I promise, we'll be careful."

"Don't get too drunk."

"I never get too drunk."

"I know you're always the designated driver when I'm around, honey, but this is Noah!"

"The lack of faith you have in my best friend is a little sad."

"I would have faith in him if he had proved himself anything but a complete jerk while we were in school."

"That's the old Puckerman, he's different now."

"I should say I'm impressed that you're defending him, but I'm not."

"Aw, come on, secretly, you're glad that Puck and I are friends again."

"It's no secret, Finn, but I'm still very unsure about his _motives_."

"Seriously? He's madly in love with Quinn and he keeps talking about them getting married and stuff, so I think you should stop worrying about what he's going to do when he gets here."

"Keep him away from Sandy and those other trashy girls that I met the last time I was there."

"Calm down, he's not going to do anything with any of those girls."

"Good, because if he hurts Quinn, I will break his legs. But I'm more concerned about them throwing their skinny bodies at him."

"He knows when to stop, Rachel, give him some credit."

"Finn."

"What?"

"You still want to marry me, right?"

"Of course, I do. Why would you even ask me that?"

"Because you're surrounded by all these girls and they're so much prett-"

"Rachel, we're not doing this again."

"You really can't blame me for being scared that you're going to move on."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to marry you, start a family with you and give you the kind of life that you deserve."

"You promise?"

"I promise. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else."

"I really wish you were here with me right now."

"Me too, baby."

"No, _seriously_, I'm not wearing any panties."

"Rach…"

"_God_, Finn, I miss you."

"Baby, now is not a good time."

"I'm so _fucking_ wet right now."

"Rachel!"

"_What?_"

"I'm at the airport and I can't, not now."

"Find a bathroom, Finn, I _need _you."

"Puck's plane just landed, I can't."

"Fine. Call me when you're not busy enjoying your bromancing."

"I will, I love you."

"I love you more."

_**xxx**_

Puck being the party animal that he was wanted to experience every kind of party the West Coast had to offer and Finn was more than happy to be his guide. There was no way he was going to be the designated driver because he knew that mentioning the words alone would earn him a black eye, so Finn kept the taxi companies on speed dial and went ahead with the crazy weekend. They attended a few boring dorm parties before finally crashing a fraternity party that proved to be the most boring thing till the two of them introduced the brothers to the age old tradition of beer pong. Finn had gotten so good at the game by the end of his senior year at McKinley, he could out do Puck in a heartbeat. Puck even got the brothers to open up the pool in the backyard and taught them all how to cannonball with just the right amount of splash. And just when they thought they were running out of things to do, the party _really_ got started. It was then that Finn realized they were no longer on UCSD campus. He wasn't even sure how the two of them got off campus to start with, but the fact that UCSD didn't have Greek row should have triggered it off. But there they were, off campus, in a fraternity house, teaching a bunch of _geeks_ how to throw a party and the world had invited itself. Somewhere along the way, Finn had found himself pressed against the wall of the pool as a girl tried to get her hands into his boxers, only to find his hands moving to push her off him with such force that he was sure he was going to drown her. The party was in full swing and Finn couldn't find Puck, he wasn't drunk enough yet, but he was pretty close. Finding a quite spot for a few minutes, Finn found that he had 24 missed calls from Rachel and a couple of text messages of her freaking out like she always did when he didn't call her back after the first six missed calls. Cursing himself for letting things get out of hand, Finn moved through the house looking for dry clothes. Grabbing the first pair of jeans he found, Finn stripped off his boxers and pulled on the jeans. He really didn't care that he was walking around commando, it was going to feel a whole lot better than walking around like he had something in his pants. Next job was to find Puck and a clean shirt. Every single room had a couple, or more, as naked as they could get each other in their desperation for the other person. And every time he found an empty room, someone tried to push him onto the bed and get his jeans off. Finding a dry shirt – not clean, just dry – proved to be harder than Finn thought. But he found one just as he found Puck fighting with a guy twice his size.

And then the cops showed up.

"One more thing scratched off my bucket list, no wait, make that three things."

"Great, you have a bucket list of badass things to do before Quinn makes an honest man out of you."

"Something like that. Crash a fraternity party, make a beer based cocktail and get into a fight with a guy that could be the stunt double for The Rock."

"You're crazy."

"Wait, four things. Get arrested for trespassing."

"I repeat, you're crazy."

"Be honest, dude, this is the most fun you've had since you left Lima."

"My idea of fun does not include getting arrested and being handcuffed to my best friend."

"Our girls might actually find this kinda _kinky_."

"Of course you'd say something like that."

"Lighten up, Hudson, it's like you've got a stick up your ass."

"I'm going to get murdered by Rachel when I get out of here."

"Wait, you're _whipped_, forget the stick up your ass."

"Proud to be whipped, actually, she called me 24 times last night and I still haven't called her back."

"Why not?"

"Because I was trying to get you to stop chewing on that dude's ear."

"Yeah, that was nasty, I don't even know why I was doing that."

"Who was he?"

"A bouncer from some club, apparently I was macking on his girl, when I wasn't macking on anyone other my own girl who insisted on telling me that she was wearing nothing as she walked around apartment, thinking about me."

"Wow."

"Get the image of Quinn naked out of your head!"

"I was not picturing her naked, well, now I am. But you spoke to her in the middle of all of that and I couldn't even find the fucking time to call my _fiancée_. I'm so fucking screwed."

"So call her now."

"With what, my shoe?"

"Don't be such a pussy, ask them for your one legal phone call."

"I don't want to call her while I'm in here, she'll get the board line asking her if she wants to talk to me and even before I start talking, she's going to be screaming at me."

"What do you wanna do, Finn?"

"Get the fuck out of jail!"

"Okay, let's make this happen then."

_**xxx**_

When Finn woke up the next afternoon with the mother of all hangovers, he found his phone blinking alerting him that Rachel had called again. And while he thought 24 missed calls were bad, seeing 39 missed calls was a whole lot worse. Groaning as he got himself out of bed, Finn did his best to keep the noise to a minimum so that Puck wouldn't wake up. They'd gotten home at six in the morning, after paying off their bail and making a huge apology for the mess that was the fraternity house. Luckily for them, the fraternity didn't press charges for all the damage done, so they managed to get out without too much trouble. Except for the angry girlfriend that Finn had to deal with shortly. Making himself coffee, Finn sat on the kitchen floor and dialed Rachel's number and waited for her to pick up the phone. She was clearly ignoring him for what he had done to her, but it wasn't like he was doing it on purpose. He let his phone automatically redial four more times while he poured himself a large cup of coffee and when she finally picked up, Finn thought he was going to cry.

"I don't want to talk to you. Ever."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. My phone wasn't with me."

"Oh, I know that. Some girl called _Missy_ called me to tell him just how gorgeous my boyfriend is."

"What?"

"Mhm," Finn tried to sort through the night before and couldn't remember his phone as Rachel rambled on about Missy and something else, but Finn wasn't paying attention, "Finn!"

"Yeah, sorry, what were you saying?"

"So, Missy is your new toy?"

"I don't know a Missy, Rachel. And I don't know how she got my phone."

"Well, she got a lot more than your phone from what she had to say."

"I'm confused."

"Did you _fuck_ her?"

"Whoa! What?"

"She said that the reason she had your phone was because you were too busy enjoying the feeling of being buried deep inside her."

"And you believe some girl because she had my phone."

"Oh, I'm sorry, what the hell am I supposed to believe then?"

"Believe me when I say that I did not sleep with anyone last night."

"You better start proving it to me, Finn, because I'm having a hard time believing you right now."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Start with the beginning of your night and then eventually get to the part where you missed 63 of my missed calls!"

"We were at a party."

"Yes, I got that, with Missy."

"Can you please stop bringing her up over and over again, I don't know who the fuck she is and I did not fuck her and oh man, I can't believe we're actually doing this."

"Finn Hudson, you better get your story straight because I am not in the mood for this right now."

"Trust me, all that happened was that we got a little carried away. But I had my boxers on the whole time and yes, there is a portion of the night that is a complete blur and I'm sorry."

"Let me get this straight, you had your _boxers_ on which also means that your pants were not at the same time and you don't remember a portion of the night, which might be the portion you were with Missy. Or wait," Finn was sure he could hear her rolling her eyes and then there was a rustle of papers as she breathed heavily into the phone, "Or the hour you spent telling me just how you were going to fuck me when you saw me next."

"W-w-whoa."

"I have to admit that it was incredibly hot because we got to continue what you didn't really let me start when you went to pick Noah up," there was more rustling of papers and he could hear her breathing change, which made him assume that she was now pacing, "Speaking of which, where is the idiot who is responsible for all of this?"

"Passed out on the couch and it's not his fault."

"Finn, please listen to what I have to say right now," he closed his eyes and pressed the hot mug of coffee to his forehead as he waited for her to speak, "If you don't come up with an explanation, not an excuse, an explanation for what happened to you last night, we are going to have to talk about us _not_ getting married. Because if I can't trust you to be faithful to me when you're out with your best friend, how can I trust you with anything? Especially my heart. I'll give you till the end of _your_ day and when I call you later tonight, you better have something good for me. Or, whatever we are right now? It's not going to be anything. Ever again."

She hung up and Finn just sat there, staring at his phone, waiting for everything to settle as he took a long swig of his coffee, burning his tongue in the process. His life as he knew it, was officially over, and while she had given him quite a bit of the day to figure his night out, Finn was sure that he wasn't going to be able to explain it all to her. Especially not the part about Missy and his missing phone. Unless Puck knew what the hell had happened and was going to be a fantastic best friend and help him put the pieces together.

_**xxx**_

In true Puckerman style, the way to get over an almost break up was to get trashed all over again. It didn't help that Jared was game for whatever whacked up plan Puck had put together. And between the two of them, there was no escaping. Jared and Puck bonded like long lost brothers and Finn just sat there, twisting the tiny straws into as many shapes as he could, trying to piece the evening together. Puck promised that they'd spend some time after getting drunk figuring everything out, but Finn really just wanted to sort everything out right then. Instead of waiting till the last minute to get his facts right. And if Rachel knew that Quinn and Puck had spoken during the party, he was officially a dead man. Given how well the two of them got along now. Closing his eyes as he downed his shot of whiskey, Finn asked for a round of beers and went through every single bottle in record time, leaving him in a drooling mess on the table till Jared and Puck were ready to head home. By quarter to 11, Rachel called and Finn had to stop himself from ignoring her call. The three of them were sitting around the patio table, a doobie being passed around as her name flashed on the screen. Taking one last hit of the joint, Finn grabbed his phone and hurried into the house. Collapsing onto the couch as he answered the phone, Finn took a deep breath, "I love you, Finn."

"I love you too, Rach, you know that."

"I know, I just feel like that you're in California surrounded by all these hot girls and I'm going to become a distant memory."

"I really need you to stop thinking that you're _nothing_, okay? You mean the world to me and I'm with you not just because you're beautiful, but because you get me and because I love you and because nobody else would put up with my ridiculousness."

"You are pretty ridiculous and frustrating too."

"I apologize for being all of that and more, but I really want you to know that I'm never going to dump you for some bleached blonde surfer chick."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay, tell me what happened last night."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I want to know why you were only in boxers, how you lost your phone and why it took till this afternoon for you to return my 63 missed calls."

"Yeah," Finn closed his eyes and nodded to himself as he prepared his big speech, "So, it's going to take some time, but I want you to know that it won't happen again." And he launched into the story from the beginning, the pub hopping and the stumbling across the boring fraternity with all the amenities for an amazing party and the sudden explosion of people and the pool party and how he had to grab someone else's jeans because he couldn't find his after stripping down to his boxers for the cannonball experience. He explained to her that the whole Missy thing didn't happen, unless she was the one who took his phone while they were attempting to play spin the bottle. He talked about the fight that he had to break up and how Puck almost knocked him cold because he was in such a hurry to beat the crap out of the bouncer. "I am going to kill Noah when I see him next."

"It's not over, babe," Finn proceeded to explain how they got arrested and tossed into jail while being handcuffed together, which did excite Rachel a little, just the way Puck said it would. He could hear her sniffling on the other end of the phone as he explained to her that they had to literally beg the police officer to let them out because they were visiting San Diego and happened to run into some of the wrong people along the way. It cost them $100 each to get out, which was a huge blow to their already depleting funds, but there was no other way to get out of that place. When he finally got to the end of the story, Rachel was crying and Finn couldn't even hear himself think. "I can't believe you got arrested!"

"Nothing happened, Rachel, it was just a few hours in jail."

"Oh God, Finn, you were _arrested_, how are you not upset by this?"

"I was upset, babe, but I can't keep being upset about it."

"I'm so angry with Noah, tell him that he's officially my least favorite person in the world."

"Come on, it's not all his fault."

"Yes, it is! You're not _that_ kind of guy. I mean, this is the guy that drove his Mom's Volvo into an ATM and got sent to Juvi! He's not 16 anymore, he still can't be doing things like this and hoping to get away with it."

"At least we got out and that has a lot to do with him."

"Yeah, because he knows how to deal with cops given his past."

"Rachel?"

"Yes, Finn?"

"We're okay and I really am sorry for all that I put you through."

"It's okay, but you're going to have to find some fancy way to make I up to me."

"I'm sure I can do that."

"You actually have no choice. Close to 12 hours of trauma deserves at least a full day of mind-blowing sex."

"I can do one better than that."

"Two days of mind-blowing sex?"

"And then some." Smiling as she growled into the phone, Finn got up and stepped out onto the patio where the guys were chilling with fresh bottles of beer and sat down, "I love you."

"I love you too, babe. I'll call you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay, I have an audition at 10, so call me after that."

"Perfect and you're going to nail that audition, don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Finn. I should get to bed."


	6. This Is Home

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. Future!Finchel._

_

* * *

_

Unlike Rachel surprising him, Finn knows that if he shows up on her door step with an overnight bag, she's going to knock him over the head and make him go home. Simply because ever since she got the role in the school production, she's been busy. So his surprise trip was shelved and they spent three nights on the phone trying to find a perfect time for him to go visit her. It took them six months to finally find the weekend when she'd be free for him and when he'd be able to weasel his way out of football practice and leave Jared alone in the house, knowing that he won't burn it down. So he called his Mom and Burt, told them he was going off to New York and got a whole lot of advice on how to deal with being around Rachel again from his mother. Then he called her Dads just to let them know that he was going to see their baby girl and that yes, he was still planning on marrying her. What he manages to leave out of the whole conversation is that he's going to propose to Rachel again. This time with a ring worthy of someone as amazing as her. It took some convincing, but Finn got Puck to go with him when he was in town. Between all the party crashing and the getting arrested, they found a few hours to go into town and find a really nice ring that he was pretty sure Rachel would love. In fact, he was sure she'd cry for a while before letting him put it on. Puck had spent that whole afternoon cribbing about how Finn was getting a leg up on him and Quinn. All that mattered to Finn was that his best friend was there to help him pick the ring that would seal the deal with the girl of his dreams.

He called her roommate to get the details of the show, he made sure he had every bit of information and did his best to keep the whole thing a secret. As per their plans, he was supposed to come in the night after her first performance on stage, simply because after talking for hours they discovered that Finn had an out of town game to attend and couldn't really miss it because being the second string quarterback he had to be there just in case the first string quarterback wore himself out on the field. What Finn didn't tell Rachel was that the game already happened and that he had played the whole game and had even won the game. But these were details she didn't really need to know. He briefed Jared on the whole thing so that his big mouth flat mate – who was already madly in love with everything that Rachel Berry was – wouldn't blurt out the truth and ruin any chance he had of surprising her. And even when they spoke the night before, Finn was amazed that he managed to keep the excitement of seeing her out of his voice.

"I'm so glad you're coming, baby."

"Me too. But hey, I did promise you that I would come."

"I know, but we've both been so busy we haven't had any time to really do something like this."

"Yeah, but we made time. That's what couples do, right?"

"I really wish you could come for my first show, Finn."

"Me too, baby, but I'll see the one the night I get there."

"Good, I might actually be _way_ better the second night."

"_Puh-lease_, you're Rachel Barbra Berry, first or second or third night, you're going to nail it."

"You have such confidence in me."

"Always. Remember what I said the first time we kissed?"

"That I touched something inside of you when you heard me sing?"

"Now that I think about it, it sounds really _dirty_, but yeah. Every time you sing or perform or do what you do best, you do something to me. My heart races and my hands get clammy and I stop breathing. Because you're so good at what you do."

"Finn…"

"You never cease to take my breath away, Rachel. Your every performance is fantastic because you put your heart and soul into it. You never fail because you believe in what you're doing."

"Finn…"

"You're going to do so amazingly every night that the show runs, you will get better as the nights go along, but you're going to nail it every single time."

"Finn!"

"What?"

"Stop."

"Why?"

"Because I'm crying and my make-up is running and I look like a raccoon now."

"Oh. No, please stop crying."

"I think I've mastered the art of not making too much noise when I cry."

"Please let that be the only art you have mastered."

"Finnegan James Hudson!"

"_Whaaaat?_"

"I can't believe you actually just said that!"

"Come on, you know I love your little sex noises. All the moans and whimpers and the heavy breathing and the panting and the growling and the way you whisper my name."

"You should really stop talking now."

"Is it because it's making you hot and bothered?"

"It's because I now need to change my once clean panties."

"I can't help it, I'm _that_ good."

"You could be even better when you get here and rip my panties off."

"Really? I get to rip them off?'

"If I remember to wear ugly grandma panties, sure. Why not?"

"Aw, don't do that. Wear sexy grandma panties. I know you have one which you designed yourself."

"Mhm. The paint still hasn't worn off."

"So it still says _Property of Finnegan James Hudson_ across the front?"

"Absolutely. And it's got your initials on the back with a heart."

"Please, please, _please_ wear these grandma panties when I get there."

"You're going to have to do more begging than that."

"I am on my knees right now, so…"

"When you get here, we can figure something out."

"Tease."

"I love you too."

"I love you more."

_**xxx**_

He gets all the details for his arrival from her Dads because he knows that if he does everything on his own in New York, he's going to get lost somewhere between the airport and her dorm room. But he gets them to write everything out and prints out the detailed six page email – he realizes that Rachel got her organizational skills from them in that moment – and carries it with him when he boards the plane. He texts her to let her know that he's going to switch off his phone on the journey to the game and will call her when he gets there before the game starts. She responds instantly and he wishes her luck before turning his phone off as the captain announces that their ready for departure. The entire flight the ring burns a hole in his pocket, he can't sit still because his long legs don't fit into the foot space in economy and he can't sleep because he's far too excited to even think straight. He paces the aisles as everyone else sleeps, drinks far too much Red Bull for his own good and spends a few minutes after every stretch of the plane staring at the ring. The air hostesses were all so giddy with excitement that it took a lot more strength to walk away from their excited squeals about the ring than Finn thought. He knew it was a beautiful ring, but when they started talking about the cut and the detail, Finn knew he had to walk away. Or he was screwed. He tried to ignore them when the plane landed in New York, but they managed to get him aside and wish him all the best and repeatedly told him that whoever the girl was, she was the luckiest person alive. He was pretty sure that some of them were even hitting on him in the process.

But none of that mattered. What they got wrong was that _he_ was the luckiest person alive.

_**xxx**_

Her roommate lets him use their room and Finn realizes that all the things that Rachel has said about Sara doesn't add up to how amazing of a person she _really_ is. She reminds him a little of Brittany with a bit of Miss Pillsbury which makes him feel instantly comfortable with her and after he showers and changes, Sara offers to make him coffee and he just sits there and talks with her about everything. For the first time in his life, Finn Hudson learned something about someone without having to force it out of them and without any awkward conversation. She goes through the six page email from Rachel's Dads and adds her own two cents to it before walking him to the closest florist. When Finn invites her for the show, Sara just shakes her head and laughs about how she knows all of Rachel's lines back to front and wouldn't enjoy it as much after watching her rehearse for so long. So he buys her lilies and asks the florist to deliver two dozen red roses to her dorm room so that when they get back after the show, the flowers are waiting for her. He knows that lilies are traditionally what people give someone after a fantastic show on Broadway, but he doesn't care. He's Finn Hudson and this is Rachel Berry, he does things his way and he doesn't care about anybody else.

He looks at the instruction sheet in his hand and makes a note of all the things he should be looking for as he walks to the theatre and laughs at the little side notes that Sara has added because she believes there's more to the city than what Rachel's Dads have listed on that paper. He strolls, because he has about an hour to kill, and takes in the sights. After living in Lima most of his life and then being in San Diego where everything is bigger, but not as bright, New York seems like the place that Finn could totally get lost in and not even know how to get out of. But he also knows that it's the place he can spend the rest of his life in. and he sees why Rachel loves the city so much. The music, the culture, the people, the sights, the numerous coffee shops with promises of vegan food and little road side artists and kids dancing. He makes a few notes himself as he stops at a newspaper stand and forces himself away from the hot dog vendor a few feet away from him. Other than the list in his hand, there are certain things that Finn knows he can't do without Rachel. Not because she told him that he can't, but because he knows these are things she would want to share with him. eat his first New York hot dog with her, go to Central Park for the first time with her, go see a Broadway show for the first time with her, walk through Times Square at some ungodly hour with her, sing with the Naked Cowboy only if she's there and so on and so forth. Finn knows that if he did those things without her, they wouldn't really be 'New York things', they'd just be New York things and without the quotation marks, they would mean nothing.

But when he stops in front of Miller Theatre, Finn realizes that he's experiencing one portion of his 'New York things' with Rachel that night, even if she's completely unaware of his presence at the show.

_**xxx**_

He's not breathing. Finn Hudson is standing with the rest of the audience, clapping for the spectacular performance he just witnessed, but he's not breathing. Not only was the show fantastic – the movie prepared him for greatness, but this was mind blowing – Rachel was the star of the show. He was proud of her that Finn had officially stopped breathing. He saw her scan the audience as she took her solo bow and Finn wanted to run up to her right then and hand her the flowers and tell her that she did a fantastic job. But that would ruin the whole point of him being there. And given that he couldn't really breathe, he probably wouldn't have gotten much out anyway. So he just stands there, working on his breathing as Rachel takes another bow to a standing ovation and steps back with the rest of the cast as the curtains come down. Finn stays standing, struggling to breathe as he grips the flowers in one hand and the program in the other. When she said _West Side Story_, he knew she had nailed the part of Maria, but he didn't even imagine it being this fantastic. It took him a few minutes to realize that someone was calling out to him and when he finally slid out of his row, he was told that Sara had called earlier and insisted that he be taken backstage to meet Rachel. Sending Sara a text to thank her, Finn followed the usher backstage and continued working on his breathing. When he stepped into the backstage area, the first person he saw was Rachel. She was talking to some guy with curly hair and dorky glasses and she looked so excited. Asking the usher for a marker, Finn carefully walked over to Rachel and McDorky and gently tapped her on the shoulder, "Excuse me, Miss Berry, could I get your autograph please?" Her expression as she turned was one that Finn was sure he'd remember forever. Her eyes filled up and she smiled broadly and practically leaped into his arms as she squealed loud enough for everyone in the room to stop what they were doing. Wrapping one arm around her, Finn lifted her off the floor and pressed his lips to her neck. Chuckling softly as she wiggled her feet, Finn set her down and smiled, handing her the flowers, "These are for you."

"What are you doing here?"

"Surprise?"

"How… when… what…."

"The game was last week, we won, I got MVP, and I played you because there was no way I was missing the first night of your first big show."

"I love you."

"I love you too, babe."

"Did you enjoy the show?"

"Absolutely. Just so you know, till I saw you just now, I wasn't breathing."

"What? Why?"

"Because you blew me away. I've seen you perform at Sectionals and Regionals and Nationals, but this…." Finn waved his arms around and smiled at her, "This was where I saw you at your best. You were _phenomenal_."

"Thank you, Finn."

"I'm so glad I did stick with surprising you, because it was so worth it." He took her outstretched hand and leaned in to kiss her as a tear rolled down her cheek, "You're the best boyfriend ever."

"Well, I do try."

"Do you have plans for tonight, or do you want to come celebrate with the cast?"

"I was actually hoping to take you out, just the two of us."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, your big night, I wanted to celebrate."

"Can we get drunk?"

"We can do whatever you want."

"I want to get drunk and," she pulled his face back to hers, kissing him hard before mumbling against his lips, "I want you to _fuck me_ at least three times before we go to bed tonight."

"And what are doing about Sara while this goes down?"

"She's staying with her boyfriend this weekend, it's just you. Me. And my incredibly large bed."

"I think I like this plan very much."

"But first, I need to change."

"Want me to wait outside?"

"No, I want you to take your time helping me change." Finn arched an eyebrow as she licked her lips and nodded, gently tugging on his hand, "Come on."

"Don't you need to tell the rest of the cast you're not going with them?"

"They already know."

"How?"

"They can see that we want to be alone tonight."

"Right, of course," Finn looked around as everyone glanced at them and shakes his head, "Let's go get you changed."

_**xxx**_

He thought their last night together in San Diego was the fastest he ever saw Rachel strip off her clothes, but the minute they were inside the dressing room and she had the door locked, her clothes were off. She was wearing her sexy grandma panties and Finn couldn't take his eyes off the front where it had his name painted on in dark blue, because it was his favorite color. He let her take charge of everything as she pushed him onto the couch and straddled his lap. Finn smiled as she chewed on her lip and slipped her hand under his shirt, pushing it up slowly as she let her fingers trace along the outline of his stomach. He never got tired of seeing her face every time his abs were in full display. Right then he could see that smile coupled with one of the many moans that made every inch of him tingle, especially the important few inches of him. Biting down on his lip as she pulled the shirt over his head, Finn let his hands move to her waist, his fingers teasing her skin above the waistband of her _Finnegan James Hudson_ panties. _They're so fucking hot_. He let her take her time getting his jeans undone and off, his eyes watching her fingers as they _accidentally_ brushed against every inch of exposed skin. Lifting his hips as she pushed his jeans off, Finn arched an eyebrow as she pulled her hands away. "Touch me."

"Can we not be naked for that?"

"I want you to touch me and get these things off."

"Rach…"

"Just do it, _Finnegan_." Growling at his full name, Finn moved one hand up her back slowly and unhooked her bra. Till that moment, he hadn't even noticed the bra. It made her boobs look _amazing_ and this was the girl with _no_ boobs. Slowly sliding them off her arms, Finn let his fingers graze her skin before getting them off completely and tossed them to the floor. He looked up at her as she pulled at the waistband of his boxers, before releasing them to gently hit his skin with a loud _whack_. Narrowing his eyes at her, Finn pushed one hand through her hair and pulled her lips to his for a hungry and desperate kiss. He let his other hand slide down her stomach, feeling it quiver under his touch, as he slipped his fingers into her panties and pressed them against her gently. She bucked her hips against his hand and Finn flicked his finger out at her clit before capturing it between his index finger and thumb and pinched it gently. Moving his other hand down her back, Finn broke the kiss and trailed his lips down her jaw and to her neck, his tongue flicking out at her skin in random places. He could feel her shudder and hear her breath hitch in her throat as he covered her collarbone with his lips. A soft hiss escaped her lips as he massaged her clit faster, growling happily as he felt it throb under his fingers. His name slipped from her lips and Finn felt his body shudder just at the sound. Running his tongue down her chest as she arched her back, he captured one boob in his mouth, letting his tongue move over her nipple slowly as she pushed her hand into his hair and tugged on it gently. Smiling as he bucked her hips against his fingers again, Finn guided her back as she arched and tugged on her nipple with his teeth, his eyes meeting hers for a brief moment before he released her nipple. He heard her whimper in happiness as she guided his mouth to her other boob, arching her back against his lips, a happy moan escaping her lips. This always happened, Finn wanted to talk about how amazing she felt in his hand and in his mouth, but Rachel just wanted him to touch and tease and pleasure her till she couldn't handle it anymore. He could feel her body shuddering, which was a sign that she was close to ravishing him the way he was ravishing her. Twirling his tongue around her nipple, Finn growled in approval as it hardened under the pressure of his tongue and pulled his mouth off her boob and looked up at her as he moved his fingers down her slit and parted her folds. Every move was slow, painful enough to make her tug harder on his hair, slow enough to make her push against his fingers hard, "Finnnnn…"

"What?"

"Baby…"

"I'm doing what you asked me to do."

"Please… just….oh… _fuck_!" Growling happily Finn pushed his finger into her as she tossed her head back, his name slipping through her lips like the chorus of a song. Twisting his finger inside her, Finn placed soft kisses between her boobs, feeling her shudder with every kiss. Pressing his forehead against her chest, Finn pumped his finger into her at the speed of her racing heart, smiling as she hummed in response to the way his finger moved inside her. Her hand slipped into his boxers and Finn smiled against her skin as she wrapped her hand around his length. Hardening in her hand instantly at her soft touch, Finn groaned as she gripped him a little tighter and moved her hand in fast and long strokes. Whimpering as she pushed herself down on his lap, Finn pulled his finger out of her and tugged her panties off, not wanting to rip them off and destroy them. If there was one thing that Finn could never do it was rip her panties to shreds – except for that one time after Nationals when he couldn't control himself anymore – and these special panties weren't going to be torn to pieces. No matter how badly he wanted her right then.

Finn lifted her carefully as she pulled her hand out of his boxers and pushed them off his hips, helping by lifting himself off the couch, Finn kicked the boxers off. Their eyes locked as she stroked his hair, nodding to let him know that she was ready. Biting down on his lip, Finn aligned them and guided her down on him, keeping one hand wrapped around his length as she carefully lowered herself onto him. Bucking his hips gently as he pushed into her fully, Finn buried his face in her neck and whimpered happily as she started moving on him. Keeping his hands on her hips as she pressed her chest against his, Finn nibbled on her neck and moved his hips with hers as much as he possibly could. Tilting his head back as she rode him faster, Finn bit down on his lip hard and growled as she moved her hips in teasingly slow figure 8's. Breathing heavily, he bucked his hips against hers again and pushed deeper into her as she cried out his name. They moved together, their breathing in sync, their hearts racing as one and their mouths glued to each other's like it was the only way they were going to survive. Their lips broke apart as she pushed down on him hard, guiding him to her spot. A soft noise, between a growl and moan, escaped her lips and Finn made it a point to get her to do that again. She leaned back, arching away from him as she took him deeper, guiding him to her spot again, her fingers tangling in his hair and tugging on it as she started throbbing around him. "_Finn!"_

"So close, baby, so close."

"Harder, _please_." Nodding and obliging her request, Finn bucked his hips hard against hers and pushed against her spot as she tightened around him, her walls sucking at his length before she came hard, soaking him completely. He thrust into her again as he hardened and filled her as he came, his body shuddering under hers as she collapsed against him, their sweaty bodies clinging to each other for some kind of comfort.

_**xxx**_

When she had finally peeled herself off of him, they moved to lie on the floor, side by side. Finn lay on his back, feeling the cool floor against his skin as Rachel curled up beside her, hooking one of her legs around his as she rested her head on his chest. Sighing happily as she moved her fingers along his stomach, Finn stroked her shoulder and smiled to himself. "Finn?"

"Mhm?"

"That was amazing."

"It really was. I should come to every show like this now."

"I'll remember to wear sexier panties next time."

"I recommend you don't. It's hot seeing my girlfriend wearing panties with my name written across the front."

"It's like your thing now, your _kink_."

"I have tons of kinks according to you."

"Mhm, that's what makes you so damn special."

"That's what my mother always said." Smiling at the sound of her giggle, Finn took a deep breath and looked down at her, "Rach?"

"Yeah."

"So, I had this whole evening planned out for us because there was something I wanted to do. Say. Give you."

"Do. Say. Give me." Chuckling softly, he lifted himself a little to locate his pants. Pulling the box out of his pocket, he kissed the top of her head, "Get on the couch."

"What?"

"Get your sexy behind on that couch."

"Okay," he was sure she had growled as she climbed onto the couch and turned to face him. Finn stayed on his knees as he held the box open to her, nodding as her hands flew up to cover her mouth, "Rachel Barbra Berry, will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, a bazillion times _yes_!"

"Second time's always the charm," Finn slipped the ring onto her finger and leaned in to kiss her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Breaking the kiss, he let his hands idle on her hips as she pressed her forehead against his, "I love you, Finn."

"I love you too, Rachel."

"You know, it's not all that late, we can still follow through with your plan."

"You totally destroyed the order of things by stripping naked in the dressing room."

"Please, you wanted me just as much as I wanted you. If I hadn't done it, you would have."

"Maybe, but the point is, _you_ ruined it."

"Possibly, but I think this was pretty amazing."

"No argument there," he kissed her again, sighing happily as she cupped his cheek in one hand and brushed her lips over his before pulling away, "The ring is gorgeous, Finn."

"I'm glad you like it."

"It must have cost you a fortune!"

"It doesn't matter how much it cost, all that matters is that you love it and you're going to marry me. It's worth every single penny."

"I can't wait to marry you and officially become Mrs. Rachel Barbra Hudson."

"You're really not going to keep your name?"

"I thought about it for a long time, but I like the way Hudson sounds with the rest of my name. I think I should just drop the Berry. It doesn't make me any less a Berry by taking on your name."

"Good point."

"I think we should, you know, celebrate being engaged _officially_ and all that."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Finn smiled as he kissed her and then pulled away, "But, I really want to get something to eat and I'm craving a hot dog and I really think you should take me to get a hot dog."

"When will the day come when you'll pick mind blowing sex with me over food?"

"Every day we're together you win over food, not my fault that you wear me out to the point where I need to refuel."

"Good save, Mr. Hudson."

"Why, thanks, future Mrs. Hudson."


	7. You Already Take Me There

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. Future!Finchel._

_

* * *

_

**San Diego. 21:40. **

"Hello?"

"Hey baby."

"Hey, what are you doing awake?"

"I was having a dream. About you. And I woke up."

"Oh, really now?"

"Mhm. It was a really interesting dream, if you must know."

"I'm sure it was, wanna share?"

"Depends, what are you doing right now?"

"Waiting for Puck to get his ass online so we can play a round before I pass out."

"Baby, it's really late, you shouldn't be playing video games this late."

"Good point, but this is the only way Puck and I communicate, otherwise, we're just trying to outdo each other with our non-existent sense of humor."

"But you're funny."

"Only according to you."

"Isn't that enough?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then turn off the computer, find somewhere comfortable and talk to me."

"I am comfortable."

"What are you wearing?"

"Uh, my Road Runner boxers. What are you wearing?"

"Your McKinley High t-shirt."

"And….?"

"And nothing else."

"Where's Sara?"

"Gone for the night."

"Why are you even wearing the t-shirt?"

"Because it's a little chilly and I don't want to freeze my you know whats off completely."

"Right, makes sense."

"Do you wanna hear about my dream?

"Yes."

"Good, because it's kinda hot."

"I like dreams that are kinda hot."

"Just a warning though, I'm already wet, if this dream makes me even wetter, you're going to be responsible for helping me ride it out."

"I can do that."

"We're in your old room, with the cowboy wallpaper and the tiny bed, we just finished dinner with your mom and Burt and Kurt was rambling on and on about how he thinks it's ridiculous that they're letting me stay in your room for the night. But I've explained to them that my Dads are out of town for the weekend and I don't want to stay alone…."

"Get to the good parts faster."

"Don't ruin it, Finn!"

"Sorry, please, continue."

"So we get to your bedroom, I lock the door and you push me up against it. _Hard_. You kiss me like you did the first time we had sex, slow and tender and you take your time tasting me, giving me enough time to taste you and find a comfortable position pressed against you. I work your buttons off and you undo my skirt, dropping it to the floor before tugging my panties off. And for once, I'm okay with you being so rough about getting my clothes off, because I just want you to touch me. I move my legs apart as I get your shirt unbuttoned and you slip your hand between my legs, your large hand cupping me as I rock my hips back and forth slowly. You shift in front of me so I can unbutton your jeans and push them off as you massage my clit slowly, taking your time. I purr and you growl in response, as I slip my hand into your boxers. You pinch my clit, twisting it slowly as I come a little and stroke you slowly, feeling you harden in my hand with every long movement. It reminds me of a time when you used to harden just by me touching you, because that was all it took to get you ready, now it takes a little more effort and I actually like that I have to work you into a state. You start whimpering, because you know that when you whimper, I can't help but give you what you want. I push your boxers off and turn around, pressing my chest against the door. I look at you over my shoulder and the shocked expression is enough to make me want you more. You fumble a little as you angle us, so you can slide into me. But you're careful, because we've only talked about doing this, but you're so good with me as you push a little deeper, your hand coming around to rub my clit as you push into me fully, my head falling back onto your shoulder….. Finn, what is that noise?"

"Fuck, Puck is on Skype."

"Shut it down!"

"I can't!"

"FINN!"

"I'll call you back."

"Don't even think about it."

"I love you."

"Finn Hudson!"

_*end call*_

**_xxx_**

**San Diego 22:30.**

Finn wiped his hands on his boxers as he saw Puck's face appear on the screen in front of him, growling unhappily as he shifted his web cam, Finn narrowed his eyes at his best friend through the lens. "What?"

"Do you pride yourself on having seriously fucked up timing?"

"Hey, you said in two hours I should check in with you, you didn't tell me that I had to double check on your sex life."

"Exactly, it's been three and a half hours since we last spoke."

"Your point being?"

"I was having a good time and you shoved your ugly face in my good time."

"You can pick up where you left off. Who was doing all the talking?"

"What? No."

"Come on, dude, you don't talk to Jared about this shit because he's never there. And I've always been there for you. For fucks sake, I gave you your first condom," in true Puck fashion, he held a condom up in front of the camera and waved it around, trying to make a point.

"That doesn't make it okay to talk about my sex life with you."

"Actually, you owe me just for that alone."

"Fuck you."

"No, fuck her. Through the phone. Better yet, Skype her and watch her," Finn rolled his eyes as Puck growled at him, making a face that he really hoped he would never have to see again.

"Puck…"

"Talk to me, man."

"No, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Sex," if anyone saw the way that Puck's eyes lit up with that one word, they'd be more concerned for themselves than Puck's constant need to get laid.

"You're good looking and all that, man, but I don't swing that way."

"Bummer, you're totally my type."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, the only thing you got going for you is that you're Jewish. Your hair is weird."

"Eh, I tried," waving his hands around, Puck leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily, "Anyway, onto more serious topics of conversation. A road trip."

"To where?"

"I was planning on going to Chicago to see Quinn and I figured you could come with me and then we'd go see Berry in New York after. It'd be like the old days."

"I thought Quinn was coming to see you?"

"Change of plans, I'm going there to ask her to marry me."

"No way," Finn held his fist up the camera as Puck did the same thing and shook his head, "My boy is growing up." Finn pretended to wipe a tear and chuckled as Puck flipped him off. "Congrats, man."

"Thanks. Going ring shopping with you got me thinking. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with Quinn. I want us to have another baby, one that we planned and can keep. And I just want my life with her to make more sense than it does now."

"I'm glad you're snapping out of your frat boy fantasy, Puckerman."

"Yeah, I blame you and Berry for this."

"We take the blame happily. Sometimes I do pretty smart things with my life."

"Yeah, it scares me sometimes," Puck chuckled as he held the ring up for Finn to see it and shrugged, "It's nothing fancy, but I think she'll like it." Whistling as Finn looked at it, Puck shrugged again and put it away, "That is one nice ring, you've got good taste."

"Totally ripped it off the one you got for Rachel."

"It's still a really nice ring."

"Right, so you're coming, right?"

"I guess so. What's the plan?"

"You come to Lima, get me, we go to Chicago and you go to New York from there and when Quinn and I are done with the whole big step, we come to New York and meet you guys. We stay in the city for about three or four days and then we let the girls hang together if they want and we head back to where we came from." Finn's eyebrows were reaching new heights as he listened to the list go on and on and he watched Puck look down every few seconds, almost like he had written the whole thing down so he wouldn't forget, "You've been thinking about this a lot."

"Yup, ever since I got back from San Diego, I've been letting my mind run away with itself."

"It's a good plan, but explain this to me, why am I coming to Lima to get you?"

"Because I need my bro to help me out a little before I take the biggest step of my life," Finn smiled as Puck pouted and nodded into the lens, his eyes pleading for Finn to just agree, "That is the stupidest thing for a Puckerman to say, but fine, only because you asked."

"Fuck yeah, besides, you get to see Berry after. Quit bitching and moaning."

"I'm going to drop you off in Chicago and go to New York almost instantly," Finn was sure he saw panic pass through Puck's eyes as he violently shook his head, "What?"

"You gotta stay a day, man."

"Dude, seriously?" Finn groaned as he tilted his head back and rubbed his face before straightening up to look at Puck, who still had this lost look on his face, "When did you get to be this guy?"

"When I realized that I can't live without Quinn. And that if I screw this up, I'm going to lose her forever."

"She loves you, always has and always will."

"That's the thing, I don't know about that."

"Trust me, she loves you. She's not going to pack up and leave just because you couldn't strap on a pair when she wanted you to."

"As my brother, that's not what you're supposed to say."

"Point is, Quinn is not with you just because of what happened in the past. She's with you because she loves you and because she knows you better than you clearly know yourself."

"So, even if I screw up this proposal, she's going to love me forever?"

"Pretty much," Finn shrugged and then winced, "Just try not to screw up the proposal, okay?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I'm serious, this shit means more to them than we realize."

"I've watched enough movies to know what that's like."

"Yeah, movies fuck it up for us. The excitement level is like _way_ higher. They get pitchy and squealy and most unfortunately, teary eyed. Which then becomes a waterfall of emotions that they can't control and you can't control and then everyone is just crying and after a certain point, you forget what you were crying about," Finn chuckled dryly as Puck looked back at him with his eyebrow arched, "However, _none_ of that happened with Rachel."

"You've been spending way too much time with Berry."

"Speaking of which, I need to call her back before she really does fall asleep."

"Dude, it's like 4am on this side of the world."

"When Rachel wants to get lucky, Rachel gets lucky," shrugging with his hands up as Puck made a whipping action and noise, Finn shook his head, "Proud to be whipped."

"I'm happy for you, man."

"I'm happy for you too," Finn chuckled and shook his head, "Enough with the chick flick moments, I'm gonna go make up with my girl, you get some sleep and send me your road trip dates."

"Got it. Thanks again, Finn," Puck held his fist up to the camera and Finn did the same, gently tapping it against the lens before turning the camera off, a smile on his face. He would never understand how they became and stayed best friends for all these years, but they just worked together. Yin and Yang and all that jazz. It was good that they were nothing alike and found a lot of things to disagree on, because Finn believed that every friendship needed some amount of tension to work smoothly.

**_xxx_**

**New York City. 04:30.**

Rachel watched her phone light up under the sheets and whipped the sheets off to see Finn's face flashing on the screen. The picture she had of him was probably one of her favorite pictures of the man she was going to marry. And the man she currently wanted to punch in the face. Narrowing her eyes at the screen, Rachel waited till the phone stopped ringing before pulling the sheet over her head again. Groaning as it started ringing again, she got out of bed and grabbed the phone, answering it, "Why are you calling me?"

"Because I wanted to apologize."

"For what?"

"For hanging up on you before."

"Oh, don't apologize for ditching your _fiancée_ for your best friend, people do that all the time," Rachel huffed as she paced the room.

"Come on, Rach, you know that I'm sorry."

"I'm going to need more than that to believe that you're sorry."

"I can do that," arching her eyebrows, Rachel leaned against her desk and waited for him to continue, "Finn, speak."

"Are you still only wearing my t-shirt?"

"Maybe."

"Are you sitting somewhere comfortable?" Rachel sighed into the phone, hoping that the smile on her face would not be _heard_ by Finn. She moved to sit on her bed, crossing her legs under her, "Now what?"

"You have two options, we can do this over the phone, or you can turn on your computer and get on Skype."

"Oh my god."

"What? Think of how hot it will be if we can see each other."

"I can't do that."

"Why not? It's not like I haven't seen everything already."

"Just…_no_!"

"Fine, we'll do it over the phone. You need to give me details though."

"I think I can do that."

"No, you _have_ to do that."

"Okay, what are you wearing?"

"Nothing," Rachel shifted on the bed and pulled her t-shirt off, folding it as she set it on the edge of the bed, "Me too."

"Good. Now, fluff up your pillows and lie back," Rachel nodded to herself as she followed his instructions, sighing happily as she untied her hair and snuggled against her pillows. She heard some shuffling, followed by a soft chuckle and then smiled as Finn cleared his throat, "I hope you know that this is pretty nerve wracking for me."

"You're not alone," Rachel smiled as she pushed her hair out of her face, "Just thinking about it alone made me nervous, but knowing that you were up for it made me think that maybe this was a way for us to get through the next year without seeing each other as often."

"I might some good news on that front."

"Oh yeah," Rachel's face lit up and then she shook her head, "But right now, I just want you to tell me what to do."

"Bend your legs at the knees and push them apart as far as you can," Rachel chewed on her bottom lip as she pushed her legs apart, sighing happily as she made herself comfortable on the bed, "What are you doing?"

"Getting comfortable," she heard him chuckle, which made her shiver happily, "You're not the only one going to have some fun now."

"Good, because I want you to feel good too, like I'm right there."

She heard him smile before whispering into the phone, "Run your fingers down your body, slowly, teasingly and take your time getting to your core." Arching her back involuntarily, Rachel slipped her hand down her stomach, growling happily as she gently pressed a finger against her clit, "Rub your fingers over your clit, and change the pressure every few seconds." Nodding as she lifted her head off the pillow, Rachel rubbed her clit, shifting pressure as per his instructions, whimpering as she felt it harden under her touch, "Oh god, Finn…" Tilting her head back, Rachel let out a loud and happy moan as she rubbed herself faster, her hips bucking against her hand involuntarily. "Baby, I'm so wet."

"Good, I need you wetter," Rachel bit down on her lip hard, drawing a little blood as she listened to him growl the rest of his instructions, "Move one finger down your folds, parting them slowly and brush your finger along your entrance. Slow, baby, _slow_."

"Finn, baby, I want _you_."

"Think of your fingers as mine." She responded with a breathy _okay_ as she parted her folds, her body shuddering at the simple touch and as she rubbed the tip of her finger over her entrance, she heard Finn breathing heavily into the phone, "Push a finger in, as deep as you can, and pull it out and taste yourself. _For me_." Nodding, Rachel pushed herself up a little and slipped a finger into herself, tossing her head back as she growled happily, the phone falling out of her other hand as she pushed her finger deeper. Moaning his name as she pulled her finger out, Rachel sank back into the pillows and slowly flicked her tongue at her finger. Closing her eyes as she sucked on her finger, Rachel patted the bed for her phone and brought it back to her ear, smiling to herself, "I really wish you had been here, Finn."

"Me too, baby," she twirled her tongue around her finger and turned onto her side as she sighed happily into the phone, "And you didn't even get to the best part."

"Oh, yeah? What's the best part?"

"Your noises, the way you tug at my hair, the sound you make when you're trying to say my name, but end up just making a random sound, how your walls tighten around my finger almost like you never want to let it go and just as you come around my finger, you make the most satisfied sound, like you're done, but you could go another round."

"And that's when you take me for another round."

"And you're ready and waiting for me."

"Like I am now."

"Except you _need_ to sleep, because you've got class tomorrow."

"I'll see you soon, right?"

"Sooner than you think."

"I love you, Finn."

"I love you more, Rachel."

"We'll talk about that later."

"Trust me, I love you more."

"Goodnight, Finn."

_*end call*_


	8. Life And Love And Why

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. Future!Finchel._

* * *

The road trip was as successful as it could be. And the four of them had many more road trips, driving to four different parts of the country to spend a few days in blissful oblivion. Puck came out to see Finn just before his mid-finals and Rachel and Quinn met up in Chicago a few times. But the four of them knew that come senior year, things would get really hard. And it was even harder on Finn and Rachel because she was working as an understudy to somebody he could not remember and had the weirdest timings and between his studying, his football and his job waiting tables, they found barely any time to talk. Texting becoming their best friend. Finn knew that once they graduated, things would fall into place, but till then they would have to deal with their relationship being like this. There was no two ways about it. And they had already sorted out how they were going to do graduation and what they were going to do after. Dating Rachel meant that everything was organized and while most people would have been annoyed by the idea of having someone else tell them what to do, Finn actually liked the fact that Rachel did a lot of the planning and sorting for them. When they did get a few minutes during their busy schedules to talk to each other, she made sure that Finn was studying and even volunteered to do tutoring over the phone if he was struggling with a portion of his notes. He knew that she was going to graduate at the top of her class and with her help; Finn was going to graduate with flying colors. There was no doubt that the both of them were going to ace this. Finn wanted to do better in college than he did in high school and with his football scholarship still intact, he knew that there was no way he was going to fail his college experience.

Graduation was probably the only thing that Finn was looking forward to at the time. He knew that everyone was coming to San Diego to see him toss his hat in the air and Finn made sure that he made his mother proud with all that he had achieved. He had gone home twice a year, but Carole and Burt had never been able to come down to see him. And he wanted their first time in San Diego to be something they would remember for the rest of their lives. Rachel's fathers also came to watch their future son-in-law graduate and as a huge group, they supported Finn. When he walked onto the stage, to get his certificate, his eyes fell on Rachel who was on her feet right beside his mother, grinning happily at him as she clapped, her cheeks tear stained. This was the first big moment of his life and he was happy that he had made it through the four years without too much of a hassle. The six of them spent three more days in San Diego, doing all the touristy things while Finn packed up his life and got ready to head home. Rachel had plans for them after she was done graduating and Finn didn't even think twice about what was coming. He knew that she had planned everything perfectly and all he had to do was go with the flow.

Burt and Carole took Finn's things back to Lima with them, apologizing to Rachel for not being able to attend her graduation and her final show. Finn, Rachel and her fathers flew to New York, stood in the stands as Rachel graduated and was honored by being on the Dean's List. It didn't come as a surprise to anybody because this was Rachel Berry and she was destined to do her best, no matter what. She was born for Broadway and she had never given anyone a reason to think that she would do badly in her classes. The night after graduation, instead of going to the big graduation party hosted by the school, the men in her life went to see her perform in her first ever Broadway appearance, in RENT. Nobody was aware of how big her role was till they saw her walk out onto stage dressed up as Mimi Marquez. Finn sat through the whole show with his jaw on the floor because he could not get over just how amazing she was. He had watched her perform so many times as part of the Glee club and just for the sake of entertaining him. But none of that had prepared him for what he was watching. Her fathers cried when the show was over, because their baby girl had proved to be everything that she promised she would be when she went away to New York. Finn remembered watching Rachel and Mercedes perform one of the songs from RENT, but seeing her in a role that demanded so much of her blew him away. Watching her graduate at the top of her class had nothing on seeing her on that stage, kicking ass and taking names. She got a special mention because she was actually the understudy to the main actress, who happened to have fallen sick that morning and Rachel had had no choice but to fill in for her. While it was the biggest moment of Rachel's life, it was a pretty big moment for the three people who had come to watch her as well.

The day after the show, the four of them flew back to Lima, taking all of Rachel's things with them. Finn knew that they were coming back to New York, but with Sara already gone, there was nowhere to keep her things while they were away for the summer. Burt and Carole had organized a fancy graduation-cum-engagement party for the two of them and while Finn was sure that his parents did the party planning just so that they would be as much part of the excitement as the Berry's, he also knew that it was a way to get the whole Glee club back together one more time. Everybody was done with college and some did better than others, but everyone was happy and everyone was back in Lima before they went on with their lives.

_**xxxx**_

"I know that everybody already knows about the big engagement news, Burt and I just wanted to throw a little something for the happy couple. You're done with college and you're still going strong, just like you promised. We're so proud of the both of you, and the rest of you as well, for following your dreams and getting exactly what you wanted. We wanted everyone here together because this might either be the first time you'll see each other before you go off to start the next chapter of your life, or the last time because you're going far away that it'll become impossible to be together all the time. So, to all of you, congratulations and good luck with anything and everything you choose to do in the coming years. Remember this, we're always here for you, supporting you through it all, no matter where you are. And we'll always still be here, waiting," Carole wiped a tear rolled down her cheek and sat down, snuggling against Burt as he rubbed her shoulder. Rachel took a sip of her champagne and turned to look at Finn who was standing at the bar with Puck and Mike. Biting down her on her lip, she smiled to herself and turned back to the table as the girls launched into a discussion about what they were all doing next. This was better than she could have ever planned and it was really nice to see everyone and almost all their families gathered together to show their kids just how much they supported all of them. Rachel leaned back and looked around her table, smiling as she took in the sight around her. Tina and Quinn were talking about being in Chicago together when the summer was over, Santana and Brittany were giggling as they cuddled together and Mercedes was busy making googly eyes at her boyfriend who had joined the conversation with the boys at the bar.

Everything was better than expected.

"Penny for your thoughts," Rachel jumped a little in her chair, absentmindedly tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked up at Finn and smiled, "You're going to be bankrupt if you do that, Mr. Hudson. And we need every single penny if we're going to be living in New York like responsible adults."

"Good thing I have a jar full of pennies that Mom collected every time I swore around her."

"You have a tiny jar of pennies, Finn, it's not going to get us anything. Not even a piece of candy."

"Breathe, baby, we're having a good time, don't start panicking about New York already."

"You're right," Rachel smiled and patted the empty chair beside her, crossing one leg over the other as Finn sat down, "I'm so proud of you, Finn, I hope you know that."

"I'm super proud of you too, Rachel, I wish you could have seen yourself on that stage."

"I was so nervous I would forget my lines or mess up the songs."

"You were perfect. Your Dad shed more tears than necessary, especially when he wasn't supposed to be crying."

"At least Daddy was there to calm him down," she smiled as she gently put a hand on his cheek, stroking it with her thumb, "I love you."

"I love you too," biting her bottom lip gently as Finn tilted his head a little and kissed the palm of her hand, Rachel sighed, "I think we should step out for some fresh air."

"That's not code for sex, right? Because if we _step out_ for sex, someone is going to catch us."

"Now that you've put thoughts of sex in my head, I can't really pretend like I don't want it," she shrugged, pulling her hand away reluctantly and placed it on her lap, "But first, we should just step out and then you can have your way with me wherever you want."

"When you put it like that," Rachel giggled as Finn downed his glass of champagne and stood up, softly excusing herself from the table as she took his hand. Linking their fingers together, she shot her fathers a small smile and let Finn lead her away from the backyard setting of the Hummel house. There were people smiling at them from everywhere, but it was almost as if Finn couldn't see any of them as he led the way into the house and through a side door to where it was quiet and provided a really pretty view of the front yard. "Finn."

"Yeah, baby?"

"I know we're not supposed to be talking about New York and our future, but have you given my suggestions any thought?"

"Rach, come on."

"I know you're not going to make a mess of things, but you do understand why I'm nervous and really worried about how things are going to be, right?" She pleaded with him to just talk to her about his plans and Rachel knew that Finn was aware of how fast she'd drop the topic. Rachel watched as Finn took a deep breath and leaned against the railings on the balcony and nodded, "I called a few newspapers to see if they would want anybody to do small university coverage and two got back to me. But they said that they'll need to see me, so I've set up interviews for next week."

"You're going to New York next week? Without telling me?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise. I wanted to get the job and then tell you about it."

"What if you didn't get the job, Finn, then what?"

"You make it sound like I haven't looked in more than one place. I spoke to tons of people while I was in New York and I sent them my papers and told them to call me when they have something. So whenever they have something for me to do, they'll call."

"What else?"

"Jared's brother has a band in the city and they're looking for a drummer, so maybe I'll audition and use that as temporary thing."

"You love music more than you love sports and journalism, so why don't you make this band with Jared's brother your main job?"

"You know how hard it is to make a name for yourself in New York, it's not like they're going to get fancy gigs all the time and get signed just because they're good."

"What if they do?"

"Then, that'd be good for everyone, but I'm not going to make that my first job option. It's not something stable and I can't do that when we're just starting our lives together."

"Finn, you need to follow your heart."

"I did, I got you, didn't I?"

"That's not what I mean, baby, you need to do what makes you happy."

"Being in New York, with you, makes me happy."

"Finn, this is the rest of your life."

"Exactly and trust me, I'm working my butt off to get the perfect job to keep us more than stable while we're in New York, but the number of jobs that are available are limited."

"Maybe we shouldn't live in New York."

"What?"

"What if it ruins our relationship because we're both not getting what we want?"

"First of all, you've got you want. You're an understudy to whatshername and you just had your big first show on Broadway, things cannot get better than that. Secondly, the summer just started, I think you need to relax and breathe easy."

"I'm just scared." She looked down at her hands as she shifted on the chair a little, closing her eyes as Finn knelt down in front of her and took her hands, "What are you scared of, Rachel?"

"Losing you. I'm going to be working crazy shifts and I might not even be home every night if my past few months are anything to go by. We'll see each other every other day and then one day you're going to get sick of my life and you're going to go off and find someone else."

"Wow, how much time did you spend thinking about that?"

"Ever since I became the understudy to whatshername," that made both of them laugh a little, before Finn lifted her head so their eyes met, "I know that high school was one big mess, but I'm not going anywhere and I definitely don't want anybody but you. You're the love of my life and soul mate. I'm not just going to let you get rid of me that easily."

"We'll be okay, right?"

"We'll be better than okay. We're going to be fantastic. We're going to have a perfect life together, with a few bumps and stops here and there, but we're going to have a really good life together in New York. You're going to be on Broadway and I'm going to be in a band and work for a newspaper and it's all going to work out just the way you said it would."

"Promise."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Rachel's eyes widened and she swatted his hand away as he started to cross his heart, "Just say you _promise_."

"Rachel Barbra Berry, future Mrs. Hudson, I _promise_ that our life together is going to be exactly the way you said it would." Her heart pounded in her chest as she smiled and pulled his lips to hers for a quick kiss.

"You also promise that this will not be a repeat of college?"

"What do you mean?" Rachel brushed her thumb over his cheek, sighing heavily as she shrugged, "That you'll do all these interviews for New York and still end up in a different place from me."

"Even if I don't get the job right away, I'm going with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Rachel let Finn take her hands as she chewed on her bottom lip – a habit she knew that Finn found sexy and distracting and worrisome all at the same time – as she searched his face for more than just that, "We managed four years together while we were on different coasts, I think we can do this."

"But I can't do another four years, or even four weeks without you in the same place as me."

"Baby, I'm coming to New York with you. You're stuck with me from the minute summer break is over. I'm going to be glued to you for the rest of your life."

"I can live with that."

"Good, because me getting a job is the least of my problems, okay? I just want us to be together. To live together like a real couple and start the life that we planned to have a really long time ago."

"Okay," she leaned forward and kissed him again, gently tangling her fingers in his hair as Rachel shifted her legs so that he was closer to her. "I can't wait to marry you."

"Mhm," she felt him smile against her lips and Rachel broke the kiss, her nose brushing against his, "That's all you have to say to that?"

"I'm just a little distracted by your lips right now."

"Maybe I can help you be distracted by more interesting things."

"I have no doubt in my mind about that."

"If I remember correctly, that downstairs bathroom is pretty comfortable for the two of us."

_**xxx**_

Everybody was still outside and as Finn led the way to the bathroom, he caught a glimpse of his mother and Burt dancing, while the others hung around just the way they were when he and Rachel had stepped away for some _fresh air_. When they saw each other in San Diego, they had to behave themselves and even when they got to New York, they had to control doing whatever they wanted to do. Till right then, the most amount of contact either of them had had was the few minutes they had on the balcony when their lips were connected and her fingers were in his hair. Ever since they had started this _sex_ thing, Finn found it really hard to control himself around Rachel. He had always had the _mailman _problem when it came to her simply because she blew his mind without doing much. Trying to make as little noise as possible as he gently pushed her into the bathroom, Finn pulled the door shut gently and smiled as he watched her hop onto the counter, parting her legs so he could stand between them, "This is totally wrong."

"Shut up and kiss me."

"Can you promise to keep your voice down?"

"I can try," his eyes dropped to her lips as she spoke and noticed that the running of her tongue over her bottom lip before biting down on it was a dead giveaway that she would not be able to control herself. But he wanted her, he wanted that proximity and he wanted the comfort of holding her in his arms again. If she made too much noise, he'd just have to work with it. Kissing always helped. Stepping between her legs, Finn let one hand roam up her thigh as he kissed her softly. Rachel moved one arm around his neck, letting her fingers tangle in his hair. Pressing himself against her a little more, Finn tilted his head and slipped a hand between her legs as he sucked on her bottom lip, tugging at it with his teeth before kissing her again. Smiling as a soft moan escaped her lips, he cupped her through her thin cotton panties and felt her wetness seep through. Rachel tugged on his hair and parted her lips, giving him entrance. Finn whimpered softly as he felt her other hand move down the front of his dress shirt to cup him through his pants. Sliding his tongue into her mouth, he slipped his other hand around her waist, pushing her dress up as he teases her skin with the tips of his fingers. Smiling as he felt her shiver at his tough, Finn pushed his tongue against hers and moved his hand into her panties, brushing his fingers against her core. Rachel moaned louder and Finn was sure that it wasn't just the bathroom echoing as he teased her clit, his pinkie moving down her slit as he massaged her clit slowly. She cupped him harder, causing him to break the kiss, his breath hot against her skin as her eyes opened a little, "Stop. Teasing. Me."

"You're not doing a good job of keeping quiet, Rach."

"I missed you so much," her eyes rolled back in her head as he dipped the tip of his finger into her, coating it before pulling it out and rubbing her wetness over her clit, "Oh _god_." Finn mirrored her actions as she wet her lips, breathing heavily, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as she struggled to speak, "I just want you to _fuck me_ hard, as many times as we both can take it."

"Only if you promise to be quiet."

"I promise to try," Finn flicked his tongue out at her lips as he slipped two fingers into her, smiling at the way she purred his name, letting her head roll back as she moved her hands to grip at his hips, "More, baby." Pushing his fingers deeper into her, Finn set his hand on her lower back as he trailed his lips down her neck. Just as Rachel clenched around his fingers there was a loud pounding on the door. Finn stopped moving his fingers as Rachel growled, urging him to continue, "They'll go away eventually, Finn, don't stop _now_."

"Seriously, Berry, these fucking walls are so thin I can hear you whispering that even."

"Noah!" Chuckling softly, Finn pulled his fingers out of Rachel as she whimpered and pouted at him, "You owe me. And this is not funny."

"It kinda is, given how Puck is always the one interrupting us when we're just starting to have a good time."

"Dude, serious shit needs to be talked about," Finn licked his fingers clean, reached for some tissues as Rachel continued pouting, "And you two can fuck like bunnies later, right now, I need to talk to both of you."

"You'll make it up to me?"

"You're not the only one that needs making up to, babe," growling playfully as she cupped him again, Finn nodded, "I'll rock your world."

"That's better," she helped him clean her up and adjusted her panties as she hopped off the counter, fluffing her hair and checking her make-up, "Now let's go see what is so important that it could not wait."

_**xxx**_

Rachel and Finn just stared at the ring on Quinn's finger, completely in shock. Well, Finn wasn't really shocked, but after the whole Lima-Chicago-New York road trip and nothing have been said, he figured that things hadn't gone as well as planned. Quinn _definitely_ didn't have the ring then. Rachel couldn't stop rambling on and on about how beautiful it was and the two girls sat on one bench and giggled and talked about their respective rings and how romantic the proposals were, while Finn and Puck sat on lawn chairs next to each other, sipping on beer, "It wasn't romantic at all, by the way."

"Apparently there were stars."

"Sex stars. She practically threw herself at me when I opened the box and wore me out before putting the damn thing on."

"Well, she looks happy," Finn clinked his bottle against Puck's as he briefly glanced at the girls, smiling to himself before turning back to his best friend, "It's crazy how we're all here again. The four of us."

"Who would have thought that Quinn would give me another chance?"

"I did," Finn took a long pull of his beer and shrugged, "You're the one she's always been in love with."

"Like how Rachel would never get with anyone else because you're her soul mate or whatever."

"You say that like you don't believe it," Finn arched an eyebrow as Puck took a sip of his beer, "Because right now, you're staring at Quinn like she's the only person here."

"Shut up."

"Seriously, before, you'd be looking at her like you're stripping her naked with your eyes."

"You've been spending way too much time with Jared, don't you get it, I'm the better best friend."

"But now," Finn ignored Puck's comment, keeping his eyes on his best friend as Puck smiled as he watched Quinn, "Now you're looking at her like she's the only person ever worth seeing in the world."

"And you're a fucking Hallmark greeting card."

"I've heard that a lot."

"But you're right, man, she drives me crazy in every way possible, but after everything, this is where I belong."

Finn clinked his bottle against Puck's as the girls turned back to them, dabbing at the corners of their eyes, "Berry, this is your fault."

"I shall take the blame for you marrying my best friend in a heartbeat," she shrugged, smiling as she got up and carefully sat herself down on Finn's lap, "You guys are perfect together and that is a beautiful ring, Noah."

"Thank you," grinning as he winked at Quinn, Puck nodded at Finn, "Frankenteen here helped me pick it out."

"Not really, I didn't even see the ring properly till just now, Puck gets all the credit."

"Either way, thank you Finn," he smiled at Quinn, realizing that never in his life had he seen her that happy, "For helping him realize that this was what he really wanted."

"You're welcome. Truth be told, he would have come to the realization anyway," smiling as Rachel wrapped an arm around his neck, Finn nodded at Quinn as she moved to sit beside Puck. Looking up as Carole stepped out, Puck jumped to his feet, "Mrs. Hummel, thank you so much for tonight."

"Sit down, Noah," patting his cheek with her free hand, she set the tray with champagne flutes on the small wooden table and looked at the four of them, "I'm so proud of all of you. Look how far you've come. And you're all right where you're meant to be."

"Finn, I know where you get your Hallmark card stuff from," Puck laughed one minute and winced the next as Carole gently smacked him on the head, "You take care of this girl, Noah Puckerman, or I will…get Burt to do something that will hurt more than that."

"I will, ma'am, I promise."

"Good, now come here you two and give me a hug," Finn smiled as Rachel pressed her lips to the side of his head and watched Puck, Quinn and his mom share a hug, "Congratulations and I'm so happy for both of you."

"Thanks Carole, it means a lot."

"Now drink up and have a good time. You can stay out here as long as you want, Burt and I driving out in a bit to go see Kurt and Blaine as they do their first show together tomorrow afternoon."

"Tell him we say _hey_ and that we'll definitely stop by next month to see them on stage."

"I will, honey," closing his eyes briefly as his mother kissed the top of his head, Finn felt Rachel shift on his lap and when he opened his eyes again, it was just the four of them.

"To the four of us, for being through everything and anything together," Finn took a flute from Rachel and smiled as they stood up, facing Puck and Quinn, "And here's to more of the four of us doing really stupid things together. But first stop, getting married."


	9. Adding To The Noise

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. Future!Finchel._

* * *

Finn gets the job at New York Times as a junior reporter and Rachel is happy that she doesn't have to worry about him being in a different city while she's following her dreams in New York. When they were dating in high school and she told everyone that she was going away to New York to be on Broadway, everyone told her that dating Finn would be hard because there was no reason for him to move to New York. Finn had never given her any reason to think that he wouldn't go with her, but she had always doubted what he would want when they got to that point. When college happened and they were pulled apart by the size of the country, she was sure that this was what everyone was talking about. It wasn't like he hadn't applied to schools in the city and Rachel didn't even need to force him to do that. She remembered the day he literally stumbled into her room carrying papers and pamphlets from different New York schools telling her that he was going to be there with her right from the start. They had poured over every piece of paper together, never once getting distracted by the proximity of their bodies or the fact that Rachel was only wearing Finn's McKinley High t-shirt. They had spent the whole night filling out application forms and while Rachel had fallen asleep for a few hours, she had woken up to find Finn still going through websites and papers and making small notes on napkins and whatever he could find. She knew that this was something he wanted to in that moment. He wanted to be with her and she was happy for that. Rachel was sure that she could do this whole college thing alone, just as long as she knew Finn was going to be waiting for her when the four years were over. But it mattered more to have him there with her. Her life would have been different from what she had experienced so far, but she would have liked having him around. But fate had other plans for them. And in some strange way, Rachel was glad fate intervened and pulled them apart. She understood what people meant when they said _distance makes the heart grow fonder_. Their love grew and she found herself waiting for the few minutes in a day when she got to hear his voice or see his sleepy face. It was worth it, being so far apart. But now they were going to be living together, in New York City, like responsible adults while they figured out their lives individually and together. Marriage was around the corner, but before that both of them needed to make something more of their lives and their relationship.

_**xxx**_

"Finn, where are my gold stickers?"

"Uh, in the box marked _Rachel's Table Things_, maybe?"

"They're not here!"

"Why do you need them?"

"I need to mark things on my calendar."

"We can go out and a set later."

"Baby, I need them now," Rachel pouted from her position on the floor as Finn walked into what would be their bedroom, "I'm scared I'll forget what colored stars go where if I don't do it now."

"You've got a gold pen, why don't you draw the stars for now? I'll go buy the stickers from the store down the street."

"I don't want to be alone in this house, it's empty and scary."

"Come with me, then," Finn shrugged as he rolled his shoulders.

"But we need to unpack."

"We can't do everything at once, Rach, so you need to decide what you want to do the most."

"Christen the apartment."

"What?"

"I read in Cosmo and also in some really stupid books that I found at the library that when a couple moves into a new house together, they have sex in every single room to christen it so that it is officially theirs."

"Wow, okay," Rachel bit down on her lip and watched Finn as he looked around the crowded bedroom and nodded, "Is that a good _wow_ or a bad wow?"

"It's an amused wow."

"I still don't know if that's good or bad, Finn."

"There is no place in this apartment for us to do anything," he gave her an apologetic smile and shrugged, "I just tripped over a bunch of boxes trying to get from the kitchen to the bedroom and our apartment isn't very big."

"Finny…"

"Okay, let me go find a space," Rachel squealed happily as Finn walked out of the bedroom, carefully pushing herself to her feet as she smoothed down her skirt and dropped the calendar back into the box. She took a look around the bedroom and smiled to herself. When they saw the apartment a month ago – when Finn came for his last job interview – Rachel had fallen in love with the place. It was small, but perfect for the two of them and she had spent a lot of time in each room deciding what would go where and how they'd behave once they started living there. Every single detail mattered to her and Rachel was aware that Finn would not try to change her mind. If he did, she would convince him that it was the best thing to do, simply because she thought it would be perfect. And he would agree, because that was just the way Finn was. Not to say that he was a pushover, because if he didn't like something he always told her. And that was just one of the few things that Rachel loved about Finn. He tried his best not to sugarcoat anything. Turning around as she heard Finn's footsteps, Rachel tilted her head to the side and smiled at him, "Hi."

"You look beautiful."

"You always say that when you want to get lucky."

"Actually, you're the one who wants to get lucky."

"So, you're saying that I'm no longer beautiful?"

"No, you're always beautiful," smiling a little as he walked over to her, kicking a few cartons aside, Rachel sighed happily, "But you're the one who mentioned sex today."

"Well, I like my sex. And I like my sex with you."

"Good answer," resting her hand on his chest as Finn closed the gap between their bodies and pressed his lips against hers, Rachel whimpered softly and pulled back, "Do I even want to know how you made space for us?"

"Why do I get the feeling that we're going to be talking for the rest of the evening?"

"Because its fun seeing you react to me talking during sex."

"We'll make a deal," Rachel's eyes widened at his words and reluctantly nodded, "You don't talk during sex and I let you pick another place in the apartment to christen."

"That's not much of a deal, Finn."

"True, but you kinda like it."

"Fine, no talking during sex."

"But," Finn pecked at her lips softly, "You are free to talk about how amazing it feels and what you want me to do, just nothing else."

"_Fine_," Rachel rolled her eyes playfully and pulled his lips back to hers, her fingers tangling in his hair as she tip-toed to deepen the kiss, her lips parting as he put his hands on her butt and pressed her against him. Sliding her other hand down his chest, she slipped it under his shirt and teased his stomach with the tips of her fingers. She was still amazed at how much work Finn had put into getting fit for the Rocky Horror Picture Show they were doing in Glee club. She remembered how he talked about being nervous because he wasn't confident about the way he looked, but she knew that that boy was now gone. Standing in front of her was the _man_ she was going to marry and confidence was definitely not something he had a problem with. That faded away with his _mailman_ problem as well and Rachel was glad for that. Squealing softly into the kiss as he picked her up, Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and moved her legs around his hips, locking them at the heel, letting them rest against his butt. Sighing happily as his hands rested on her butt, Rachel flicked her tongue out at his lips and slipped it into his mouth as he parted his lips giving her access to his mouth. Six years and the sex was still good, she credited it to the fact that they weren't always trying to physically attack each other. They took it slow, there was foreplay and there was a lot of teasing. In her mind, the best kind of sex happened like that. Not that she had a lot of experience in what other kinds of sex was like. But even after being apart for almost a year during their senior year, the sex had been slow and beautiful.

_**xxx**_

Even as he carried her to the living room – where he had spread out a mattress and covered it with a sheet, the cartons forming some kind of fort around the mattress, with candles sitting on every flat surface that wasn't made of cardboard – Finn knew that while Rachel wasn't talking, she was thinking all the things she wanted to say. Finn knew her that well, especially since she mumbled something against his lips before he gently lay her down on the mattress, licking his lips as he looked down at her, Finn had to stop himself from staring. People always talked about how Rachel had an odd nose and a big mouth, but those were just a few of the things that he loved about her. That and her big brown eyes that could make him do whatever she wanted him to do. He had never met anyone with such beautiful eyes. Smiling, Finn moved over her, brushing his lips against hers as she gripped the ends of his t-shirt and slowly pushed it up. He pulled his lips away from hers to help her get off his shirt and helped her with her dress before returning his lips to hers. Smiling as he felt her arch against his tongue as he ran his fingers down her sides, Finn slipped a hand under her and unhooked her bra, growling softly as she sucked on his bottom lip. Sliding the bra strap down her arms, Finn shifted above her a little to give her better access to his jeans. Sighing happily as she got the button and zipper undone, he kicked his jeans off and pressed his hands into the mattress on either side of her head, deepening the kiss as she toyed with the waistband of his boxers. As much as he wanted her – and she could probably tell from how hard he was already - Finn wanted to enjoy every minute that led up to the sex. Kissing Rachel was pretty mind blowing and the way her warm fingers felt against his skin was pretty amazing. It was one of the best parts of their make-out sessions. His arms shook a little as she slipped a hand into his boxers, running her nails down his erection as her tongue teased his bottom lip. Finn broke the kiss reluctantly, looking down as she wrapped her fingers around his length and stroked him slowly, "What's wrong, baby?"

"It's been a while since you've done that."

"You don't let me help you in the morning," Finn looked back at Rachel as she shrugged, "You miss out on a lot when you don't let me do that."

"I'll remember that next time," without giving her a chance to say something in response to that, Finn pressed his lips against hers, nudging her lips apart with his tongue. Shifting above her as she moved her hand in longer and faster strokes, Finn tugged her panties off with one hand and slowly pushed her legs apart as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Whimpering desperately as her thumb moved over his tip, Finn gripped at the sheets with his hands and tangled his tongue with hers as she squirmed under him a little. Growling unhappily as she pulled her hand away, Finn moved one hand down between her legs and shook his boxers off as she pushed them down his hips. Brushing his fingers against her core slowly, he smiled at just how wet she was already. A low moan escaped her lips as he broke the kiss, their noses brushing as she whispered _fuck me, please_ against his lips, her breath hot.

Slipping into her easily, Finn growled as his lips grazed hers, their warm breaths mixing as she slipped her arms under his and rested her palms on his back, her hips lifting to meet his as he pushed into her fully. Burying his face in her neck, Finn moved a hand to her hips to hold her against him as he moved his hips against hers, his length brushing against her walls. He heard Rachel swear and smiled at the way her nails dug into his skin gently, her hips bucking against his hard, "Stop teasing me, baby, _please_." Dropping his hand to the mattress he finds a steady rhythm as he pushes into her deeper with every thrust, her legs tightening around his hips. Finn flicked his tongue out at her neck as she tilted her head to side, giving him better access, and sucked on her skin, feeling her breath on his shoulder as she whimpered softly, digging her nails into his back more. Shifting a little, he picked up the pace of his thrusts and growled against her neck as she scraped her nails down his back, her moaning getting louder as she dug the heel of her foot into his butt, urging him to go deeper. Gripping the sheets a little tighter, Finn let his teeth gently sink into the spot he was sucking on as he felt her walls clench and unclench around him. Moaning loudly as she arched her back off the bed a little, Finn pulled his teeth off of her skin and ran his tongue over the bite mark to soothe it as Rachel captured his earlobe between her teeth and tugged at it, moaning into his ear as she moved her hips against his. Moving his hand back to her hip, Finn held her against him as he pushed faster, his breathing getting ragged as he slipped his hand into the tiny space between their bodies and rubbed her.

Smiling as she released his earlobe, Finn gently scraped his teeth along her neck as she cried out his name, her hands now gripping his shoulders as she rocked against him. rubbing her faster, Finn pushed into her deeper and let his eyes flutter shut as his tip grazed her spot, a breathy moan escaping Rachel's lips as she tightened around him, "So close, baby." Finn nodded as he thrust harder into her, hitting her spot as her body shuddered against his. She tightened around him again and wrapped her arms and legs around his body tighter, like she was clinging to him for dear life. Feeling her walls quiver around him, Finn pushed harder and felt her come undone, soaking his length as she let out a raspy chuckle, her head tilting back against the mattress as her hands loosened from around his neck. Filling her as he came right after her, Finn pressed his hands into the mattress to keep himself above her, their bodies pressed together, but he still didn't want to crush her with his weight. Sighing happily, he rested his forehead on her shoulder and worked on his breathing, letting it take it's time regulating as she ran her finger slowly up and down his back, being careful about the cuts she had made in his skin. But they just stayed like that for a little longer, Finn buried deep inside her as Rachel hummed into his ear and teased his back slowly, because in that moment nothing else mattered.

_**xxx**_

When he woke up the next morning and found her gone, Finn sat up quickly, feeling like he was reliving high school in some weird way. There had been that one time they had had some of the most amazing sex of his life and when he woke up, she was gone, leaving her panties behind. Almost like she was taunting him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, realizing that he was in _their_ apartment and that she couldn't have run out on him again. Plus, he could hear her singing coming from the kitchen along with the smells of fresh coffee. Smiling as he stretched, Finn instantly groaned and dropped his shoulders, resorting to stretching his arms individually while rubbing his face to ease the pain in his back. The singing stopped and Finn looked just as Rachel walked into the living room carrying two cups of coffee and wearing his letterman jacket, open in front and only wearing panties underneath, "Wow."

"Good morning, honey."

"Where did you find that?"

"I tripped over a box this morning and this fell out, so I figured I'd put it on, instead of my dress."

"You look really good in it."

"Thank you," Finn smiled as Rachel shrugged one shoulder and bent one leg at the knee, biting down on her lip, "I missed wearing it."

"I missed seeing you in it," Finn took the coffee from Rachel as she handed it to him and shifted a little as she sat down beside him, "I remember the first time you wore the jacket to school, it was like having one of my dreams come true."

"A dirty dream?"

"A very dirty dream."

"Was I dressed like this?"

"Well, no," he took a sip of his coffee and winced as his back started stinging, "Babe, we need to cut your nails."

"Focus on the dream, Finn."

"My back is in insane pain and you're interested in a dirty dream?"

"Yes, because I want you to tell me about it so that I can maybe help you relive it," Finn frowned at her as she licked her lips before wetting a finger and slowly running the finger over a scratch on his back, "And I promise to take care of that as well."

"How are you always so cheerful in the mornings?"

"When you have really good sex the night before, it's impossible to wake up in a bad mood," Finn tried not to smile as Rachel snuggled up to him some more, her finger slowly moving over every part of his back, "Plus, I had mind-blowing sex twice. So that has to do something to make someone feel amazing the next morning. Don't you feel amazing?"

"If I could get past the pain in my back, I'm sure I'd feel all kinds of amazing."

"I'm sorry, baby, i could talk or make too much noise and I had to let you see how much I was enjoying it."

"Let's cut your nails shorter next time, long nails aren't good for me."

"Fine," he winced as she pulled her hand away from his back and sighed heavily as she turned her attention to her coffee mug, "I'm sorry, baby."

"No, you're right Finn. If I keep marking you up, we're never going to have much sex."

"You're still upset with me."

"Yes, I am, because I can't do anything when we have sex," she rolled her eyes and looked at him, causing Finn to arch an eyebrow at her, "No talking, no screaming, no scratching, no this, no that. What can I do?"

"Anything you want to do."

"Now you're confusing me," Finn chuckled softly and shifted so that his chest was pressed against Rachel's arm, "Wanna hear about the letterman jacket dream?"

"Only if it's really good."

"I woke up with a hard-on that I had to take care of on my way to school because I was running late."

"You slept through your alarm because of me?"

"How did you miss the part about the hard-on and focus only on the being late for school bit?"

"Well," Rachel blushed a little and sipped on her coffee, "So, about your dream…"

"Right," Finn chuckled and stretched a leg out behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder as he whispered, "I left my jacket in your room again and you showed up to school wearing this black dress with no shoulder straps and you insisted on taking the jacket off while we were in class together and when I asked you to put it back on because I didn't want other dudes staring at you, you said that it didn't matter, because you only had eyes for one dude and that if he noticed how good you looked, nothing else mattered. But every other guy in class was staring at you so when we got out of that period, you dragged me to the janitor's closet and well…" Finn trailed off, smiling to himself as he took a sip of his coffee, noticing the way Rachel was looking at him, eyebrow arched, "And well what?"

"It was some pretty hot dream sex."

"Do you want to give me details?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"It's like you can't imagine what went down in the janitor's closet."

"I can, but I want you to help me out a little."

"You weren't wearing panties, for starters," Finn nodded as Rachel's eyes widened, "Because you apparently left them in my locker as a gift."

"You know, if you had mentioned this dream before, you might have been lucky enough to get a pair of my panties."

"I get free access to your panties now, so I'm not complaining," Finn smiled and then as an afterthought, added, "Besides, in my dream you left a pair of used panties in my locker. As in the one you were wearing when you got to school. The Rachel I knew in high school would never have done that."

"Just because I gave Jacob a pair of new panties doesn't mean I would do the same for you."

"Really?"

"Mhm," she sipped on her coffee and turned to look at him, her lips inches from his, "I would have given you the dirtiest pair."

"I highly doubt that."

"You have no faith in me."

"I know you, there's a difference."

"If I wanted to make you horny and desperate for me, I'd have left a soaked pair, just so you knew how much I wanted you when we were apart the night before."

"Would my fiancé do that for me?"

"Once we both start working long hours and finding only 20 minutes in our day to be with each other?" Rachel nodded and turned back to her coffee, leaving Finn's lips tingling for more, "Probably."

"Just probably?"

"Let's see how things work out for us when the time comes. Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll do more than leave a trail of dirty panties for you to follow after a long day at work."

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

"You have _no idea_," Rachel giggled and turned to kiss him softly, "I've had my fair share of dreams of what life would be like once we started living together. I blame all those stupid books Kurt used to leave behind in my house."

"Thank God for Kurt," kissing Rachel back, Finn wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him gently, "Good idea on christening the apartment, babe."

"We still have the kitchen and bedroom, Finn, don't get tired on me just yet."

"I'm always up for more christening; I just need my morning coffee and a little TLC for my back."

"Finish up that coffee and I'll help with your back," Finn downed the rest of the coffee and set the mug on the floor, grinning at her, "Whenever you're ready, future Mrs. Hudson."


	10. New Way To Be Human

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: This is the prequel to "A Beautiful Somewhere", you don't have to have read that story to know what this is about. Future!Finchel._

* * *

They've been in New York for less than a month and Rachel's already dragging Finn back to Lima. It's almost like she can't wait to be back home. He knows why they're going back though, it's not like he hasn't been planning his life around this weekend home, but he still just wants to stay in New York. He likes it in the big city, even if work is crazy and he sees Rachel for about an hour every day. It bothers him that he can't spend time with her, but whatever time they get together, they cherish it. The sex has reduced and they spend all their time talking, because that is the one thing that they need to do. If they don't, it feels like they're not part of each other's lives as much. So they collapse into bed, fully clothed after their long day, and cuddle while they take turns talking about what their day was like. Finn knows that their sex life has to take a break at some point and that maybe this is a good thing because talking with your bodies instead of your mouth isn't the best way to go through a relationship. And when Finn and Rachel start talking, they usually get completely carried away because they like being totally involved in each other's lives. He likes listening to her and watching her talk about the show, the way her face lights up and her hands flail all over the place and the sound of her giggling and the way she presses herself against him when she gets really excited. Finn is surprised by himself for not wanting sex like he usually does. Just being close to her is enough. That and the fact that he's too tired after work to really even _think_ about sex. But they do bring it up once in a while and the few times that they do let themselves strip each other naked, the sex is slow and not as fun. There's slow and wonderful sex – this is all Rachel talking after they're done – and then there's awkwardly slow sex, which is what they've been having. They both climax, which is a shock really, but it's not the same thing. They're trying to make love, but they're doing everything but. So Finn believes that maybe the trip home will be a good idea. Maybe it'll help them revisit their old haunts and revive the sex drive. Or not have any sex at all because Rachel has this itinerary that they have to follow and given that they're going home for a _wedding_, they can't really mess around with the list that Rachel has emailed him after editing it twice. And he notices that sex features on the list three times, using their secret code of _gold stars_ – which is actually a gold star.

_**xxx**_

Rachel left for Lima the day before Finn, taking Thursday and Friday off so that she could be a good and helpful maid of honor and also so that Quinn can relax while Rachel runs around like a headless chicken. It's not exactly the worst thing in the world and while she's not particularly good with stress, Rachel knows that someone has to keep the bride busy while everything falls apart if it decides to happen. And as Quinn's best friend and maid of honor, that is her job. She would rather have Finn there with her, doing all the heavy lifting and the bossing around, but he had to work. And while she had to work as well, the director let her take the long weekend off because she explained to him how important all of this was to her. sometimes even she couldn't believe how far they'd come. A few years ago Finn and Quinn were dating, then Finn was with Rachel and then Finn was with Quinn again and then he finally came back to Rachel and Quinn finally went back to Puck. The four of them had in some way or the other gotten together with each other and now they were best friends and getting married and perfectly fitting into the coupling that should have been the deal all those years ago. She still couldn't get over the fact that she and Quinn were best friends when there was a time when Quinn _hated_ Rachel and a time when the only friend Rachel had was Finn. Things had changed and they had gotten older and they were all happy this way. She was the maid of honor for the Fabray-Puckerman wedding and Finn was the best man and in a few months, Quinn and Puck would be returning the favor and all would be right in the world.

Sleeping had become a luxury for them, one they didn't have, so getting Friday morning to just stay in bed and do nothing meant that Rachel was going to take it for granted. She was curled up in her old bed, wearing one of Finn's McKinley High t-shirts, not bothered about the world. She had worked till four am the night before and while it was well on its way to being time for lunch, Rachel couldn't get herself out of bed. The old Rachel would have been up at 6am for a quick elliptical run before eating breakfast and continuing on with her day like she wasn't exhausted from the night before. But the new Rachel was lazy and loved staying in bed. She blamed Finn for turning her into a slot. They spent so much time in bed during the weekends that Rachel forgot what it was like to be up at unearthly hour. Stirring as she felt the covers being pulled from her body, Rachel whimpered softly and blindly reached for the sheets and came up with nothing. Opening her eyes slowly, Rachel turned onto her back and squealed loudly as Finn's face appeared in front of hers. It took her a few minutes of blinking and looking down to make sure she wasn't imagining him there, "This is one helluva dream if you're dreaming, huh?"

"I am dreaming, aren't I?"

"I'm not sure. If you were dreaming, would you be able to feel this?" Rachel bit down on her lip as Finn's hand slipped between her legs and cupped her through her thin cotton panties. Her eyes fluttered shut as she moved her hips against his hand, holding back the moan that was threatening to escape her lips.

"Hi, baby."

"Hey yourself," Finn pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth before pulling his hand away to lie down beside her. Rachel turned onto her side and smiled, pushing her hair behind her ear with one hand as she reached out to touch him with the other, just making sure that she wasn't imagining this, "You're really here."

"I made up some big story about my _brother_ getting married in two days and how as his best man I had to be here for it and my editor told me that I can work from Lima if anything suddenly happens."

"Noah is sort of like your brother," Rachel pointed out as she scooted closer to him, her fingers carefully unbuttoning his shirt as she smiled, "Even if Kurt would not appreciate getting replaced by Noah."

"Yeah," Finn dropped his eyes to her hands and smiled as he looked back at her, "Let's not tell Kurt that Puck is more of a brother, because that would just not go over so well."

"Kurt's an amazing brother."

"Kurt is a pretty awesome brother; I think I'm lucky to have a brother like him."

"When he gets married, you better have some fancy speech prepared."

"I like how you think he's going to ask me to be his best man."

"You're his brother."

"Burt could be his best man," Finn raised an eyebrow as Rachel sighed in defeat and ran her hands down his bare chest, "You okay, Rach?"

"I just missed you."

"It was one day, babe."

"I know and I was busy all of yesterday, but being back here without you was so weird."

"I'm here now."

"And you're going to be here for the next three days."

"Two."

"What?"

"I have to be back on Monday morning, unlike originally planned."

"Finn!"

"I got today off, so my editor wants me back at work on Monday."

"Honey," Rachel sighed, trying to keep the annoyance from being evident in her voice, "You're leaving as soon as they leave. I thought we'd get a day together in Lima before we went back."

"I know, baby, but I can't skip out on work so much. I'm still the new guy and it's kinda strange that I'm already taking a day off."

"What will I do the last day alone?"

"Spend it with your dads; go visit my mom and Burt."

"But I made plans for us."

"Can't we do them today? I promise I'm all yours today. Your dads are the only ones who know I'm here."

"I guess we can."

Rachel pouted as she uncurled herself and moved closer to Finn, leaving absolutely no gap between their bodies. She heard his breath hitch as she pressed her lips to his chest before tilting his head to trail her lips up his neck. Smiling against his skin as his arm moved around his waist, Rachel carefully lifted a leg and hooked it around his hip and rolled her hips against his gently, nipping at his skin at the nose that escaped his lips. Pressing herself against him gently, Rachel pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips, pulling her lips away from his neck as she licked her lips and sat up straight. Smiling down at him, Rachel worked his belt off fast and undid the button and zipper on his jeans before lifting herself to push them off. She could see Finn itching to grab her hips and help her take her clothes off, but she locked eyes with him and hope he got the message that she was in charge. Most of the time she let him do whatever he wanted, but now she was going to do all the work and she wanted him to just enjoy it. Of course things would turn around just as she would be getting to the good part and she wouldn't complain, because once Finn was buried deep inside her, it didn't matter how they conducted their _business_. Rachel shifted on his lap, sliding her hands past the waistband of his boxers and carefully tugged them off, all the while keeping her eyes locked on his. Finn had once told her that one of the hottest things about sex with her was the way she kept her eyes locked with his. The only time that their eyes weren't connected was when they were kissing, or his face was buried in her neck or she was tumbling over the edge. She was going to keep this eye contact going as long as she could and it was almost such a treat watching him struggle to keep his eyes open as her tiny hands found their way around his erection. Rachel licked her lips, smiling as he mimicked her actions, and wrapped her fingers around his length, moving her hand in long slow strokes as he growled, keeping his eyes on her. she brushed her thumb over his tip as his hips bucked into her hand and Finn's head tilted back, breaking their eye contact. Biting down on her bottom lip Rachel moved her hand faster as he hardened in her hand and rocked her hips against his slightly. When his hand moved up her thigh and slipped under her shirt, Rachel's eyes fluttered shut and she didn't even fight him off as he hooked his finger into the waistband of her panties and tugged on them. Lifting herself off of him, Rachel used her free hand to help him get her panties off. A strangled moan escaped her lips as Finn slipped a hand between her legs and teased her clit slowly, shifting the pressure of his finger against her. she matched his movements by moving her hand as fast as he moved his finger and felt her clit harden under his touch. Arching her back, Rachel rolled her hips down into his touch and bit back a loud moan as his finger slipped into her, "Baby…"

"I want you too, Rach," Finn pulled his finger out of her slowly as she twisted her hand along his length, brushing her core along his length as she dug her knees into the bed, lining them up before lowering herself onto him slowly, letting her body adjust. Rachel leaned forward slightly and rested her hands on his chest as she lowered herself more, pressing her eyes shut as his hips moved up to meet hers, filling her completely. Scraping her nails down his chest slowly, Rachel moved her hips against his slowly, trying to find a steady rhythm as Finn moved under her slowly, his hips moving in the opposite direction.

_**xxx**_

Finn knew the minute that he got to Lima Rachel would tell him exactly how to do things. And he also knew that waking her up would lead them to getting naked and comfortable between the sheets. And he was more than happy about that because it meant that he got to get what they had been depriving themselves of for so long. His fingers dug into her hips as she found a steady pace, moving her hips along his length, her back arching as she scraped her nails along his torso, his name falling from her lips like a chant. Finn bucked his hips up into hers, causing her to dig her nails into his sides. The pain could be ignored for now, but in a few hours, he'd be wincing every time someone touched or hugged him and as far as Finn could remember Rachel's itinerary, they were going to be hugging a lot of people. Growling happily as she moved her hands away from his stomach to wrap her fingers around his wrists, Finn opened his eyes and watched her ride him, her head thrown back and her perfect for his hand boobs bouncing as she moved. There were so many things he wanted to do, tasting her was at the top of his list, but for now, he'd have to deal with what he had. And he wasn't complaining, because this was amazing. But he really wanted to taste her, feel her fingers in his hair as he took his time letting his tongue do all the work. Finn bit down on his bottom lip as she pressed her thighs against his side, clenching around him as she dropped her head slightly, her eyes opening enough for him to see that they were glazed over. Smiling to himself, Finn pushed his hips up against hers gently, sliding an arm around her waist as he used the other to balance himself and flipped them over so that she was under him. shifting as he pulled out of her slightly, Finn watched Rachel's body arch for the contact again. That small action alone made him smile and pushing his hands into the mattress on either side of her, Finn thrust back into her. he knew almost as soon as he inside her again, that pinning her hands above her head was the right thing to do, but Finn was so caught up in the way her body buzzed for his that he didn't think of the consequences of her nails on his back.

Burying his face in her neck, Finn found a steady rhythm as he thrust into her, not wanting to rush it and miss everything. One hand settled on her hip as she moved with him, her hips meeting his with every thrust. Finn groaned loudly as she dug her nails deeper into his back, dragging one hand along his shoulder and into his hair. Sucking on her neck as her fingers threaded through his hair, Finn shifted slightly and thrust deeper and faster into her. Rachel wrapped her legs around his hips, digging the heel of her foot into his butt and urged him deeper. Finn scraped his teeth along her skin as he pushed deeper, growling as Rachel moved her hips up into his in sloppy circles, guiding him along her walls as she clenched and unclenched around him randomly. They'd been having so much sex since that first time, Finn was sure that nothing would surprise him anymore, but Rachel found a way to surprise him every single time. And if he let her take charge, Finn was sure that he'd be learning something new right then, but he wasn't looking for new, he just wanted her. all of her. grunting as she pushed her hips up against his hard, Finn thrust against her spot, producing a strangled moan from her. she tugged on his hair and he bit down on her neck as she tightened around him, whispering something into his ear that Finn did not care for. All he knew was that she was close and so was he and in that moment, words did not matter, just what they both wanted. Pushing into her harder as she mewled against his shoulder, Finn felt Rachel's walls suck on him hard as she shuddered under him as she came, the happy moan falling from her lips sending him over the edge as he hardened and released into her, her body jolting against his before collapsing onto the bed. Finn rested his forehead on her shoulder, his eyes closed as he worked on his breathing, the sound of their in sync breathing and the silent hum coming from the two of them being the only thing Finn could hear for miles. Her fingers brushed over his back, carefully soothing the spots where she cut him. Finn was sure he was bleeding, but he couldn't be concerned about that when he was more interested in the way her hips slowly moved against his, like she was gunning for a second round. Knowing Rachel, she could go for a second and third without thinking about it. But he was in pain and he didn't want to say _no_, but he knew that if Rachel pushed up against him, there would be very little he could do to stop himself from wanting it as well. But the movements of her hips stilled and Rachel unwrapped her legs from around him, which was his cue to pull out and move so they could snuggle till they fell asleep.

_**xxx**_

Finn opened his eyes when the sound of a ringing phone woke him up. He had no idea where it was coming from, but it sounded like his phone. He was pretty sure that Rachel wouldn't be listening to Pantera, even if it would make him totally happy. But there was a problem. His phone was somewhere on the floor, probably in the pocket of his jeans, and Rachel was half on top of him. there was no way he was going to move without waking her up. They had gone another round after Finn had pulled out, but that had been slower and a lot more desperate. Rachel took charge and Finn didn't even fight it. But now he was in serious pain and he couldn't move for more than one reason. Closing his eyes briefly as his phone stopped ringing; Finn let his hand settle on Rachel's butt and settled back into the bed to sleep again. "Cowboys From Hell" started up again, filling up the room and before Finn could open his eyes, Rachel was sliding off of him to get his phone. Groaning as she tossed it at him, Finn blindly moved his hand along the bed and picked up the phone, answering it as he sat up, "This better be good."

"I'm getting married in two days and that's all you have to say?"

"I'm not sure what you want me to say."

"Good point," Puck grumbled on the other end of the phone and Finn rubbed his eyes as Rachel straddled his lap again, pressing soft kisses to the corner of his mouth before moving her lips down his jaw, "Are you in Lima yet?"

"Yeah, I got in a few hours ago," Finn closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady as Rachel flicked her tongue out at his neck, "What's up?"

"You're planning my bachelor party, right?"

"Unless you have someone else who wants to do it."

"I wasn't really meaning to ask you, because you have got to do it."

"I guess I'm planning your bachelor party."

"Yeah, okay, don't."

"What?" Finn groaned both at the conversation and the feel of Rachel's hips rolling slowly into his as she sucked on his pulse point, "I'm confused now."

"Quinn just told me that if I have a bachelor party, she'll deprive me of sex for a few months."

"Dude," Finn bit back a groan as Rachel moved her lips along his jaw and sucked on his earlobe, "I have to go."

"What? No, fuck whatever you're doing and rescue me."

"Yeah, about that…" Finn licked his lips and opened his eyes as Rachel smiled, pushing one hand into his hair as the other reached for the phone, "Babe, wait…."

"We'll see you for lunch, Noah," Rachel hung up, turned the phone off and tossed it on the floor, pushing her other hand into his hair as she scrunched up her nose, "We should really not go without sex for this long ever again."

"You're telling me," Finn moved his hands to her back, shifting her on his lap carefully, "I'm the one with cuts and bruises on my back and I'm pretty sure my hair is going to come off in your hand this time."

"I'm sorry for wanting my fiancé so bad that I can't hold back."

"I'm not _complaining_, just stating the facts."

"Good, because I don't want to have to deprive you sex for the rest of the weekend."

"You wouldn't, not when I can feel just how badly you want me."

"Shut up," Rachel giggled and leaned in to kiss him as Finn pulled her against him, their chest pressed together as he hardened slightly, causing her to moan happily into the kiss. This wasn't a good idea, not when he was already in so much pain, but he knew that if he made enough noise about it, Rachel would make it up to him later. This weekend was about them and making up for what they hadn't had in a really long time.


	11. Sooner Or Later

_**Disclaimer:**__ Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only._

_**Author's Note**: I'm sorry this update took so long. I couldn't find the notes I had made for the chapters and it was driving me a little nuts. So this is me winging it. _

It was one of his favorite weddings till date. Not that Finn Hudson has been to a million weddings – just two, if you count the one he just attended – but he knows that for years to come it'll rank somewhere at the top. Falling short of first place only because his own wedding is going to be pretty spectacular. There wasn't a single hiccup and whatever did happen, was kept under wraps and the wedding party made sure that nobody got wind of what was really going on. Quinn looked – still does, actually – amazing and Puck pulled off wearing a tuxedo with his Mohawk very much intact. Finn's not even sure how he convinced Quinn to let him keep it through the whole ceremony, but he knows that being with Puck has changed Quinn a lot. She was always a much easier person to be around when she had to deal with Puck and his bad attitude. And Rachel. Finn smiles at the thought of how beautiful his fiancée looked all day. Standing beside Puck as his best man gave Finn the best seat in the house and it didn't matter that Santana and Brittany walked up the aisle first – and looked gorgeous doing so – his attention was fixed on the tiny brunette a few steps ahead of the bride. Everybody gasped and 'awwed' at the sight of Quinn, but Finn would only admit it to himself, Rachel looked absolutely stunning. Her pale pink bridesmaids gown clinging to every curve and hugging the ass that he loved with her hair pulled back in a side bun (that's what they're called right?) and just enough make-up to make her face glow more than it does on a regular basis. Throughout the ceremony, he had watched her, smiling as she blushed at the feel of his eyes on her, watching her carefully push a few stray strands out of her face and what sealed the deal was staring at her lips as she mouthed the words _'I love you'_ just before Puck and Quinn said _'I do'_. He was a lucky guy and he would totally take the title of luckiest guy in the world, but from the look on Puck's face right then, Finn knows that he'd be a terrible best friend (and brother) if he took that away from the guy that just married the girl of his dreams.

"Dude…" Finn blinked a few times and turned to Puck as his best friend nudged him, "Were you sleeping with your eyes open again?"

"No," Finn rolled his eyes with a soft laugh and smiled as he looked past Puck, "Just thinking about how we're both such lucky guys. You more than me, right now, but we're really lucky."

"Oh man, I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it feels to be married. Who would have thought that I, Noah Puckerman, would ever get married?"

"Nobody," Finn fixed a serious look on his face and then burst out laughing as Puck frowned at him, "Whatever, that guy is gone and you're a smarter and wiser and older person now."

"Don't forget lucky," Puck nodded as Finn patted him on the back, "And you're going to be pretty fucking lucky too in a few months."

"True, but tonight is about you."

"Thanks for everything, Finn."

"Save it for after my speech. It's a good one," Finn laughed as Puck shook his head and turned back to his _bride_. Finn took a deep breath and looked around the large room, nodding to himself as he stood up. He picked up his glass of champagne and gently tapped his knife against the side (Rachel taught him the _right_ way to do it after he broke six glasses the day before while he rehearsed his speech) to get everybody's attention, "Most of you already know me, but for those of you that don't, I'm Finn Hudson and as the best man, I've been told that I need to say something about how lucky Quinn is to have Puck as her husband. But I'm not going to do that." He paused as everyone stared at him in slight shock, his three best friends being the only ones who seemed to find it amusing, "I've known Puck my entire life and we had our rough patches growing up when we wanted the last bar of candy at the store, or when he gave me one too many wedgies and I was never strong enough to give him one back. And then we hit another rough patch in high school because we seemed to want the same things all over again. Despite it all, Puck's been there for me. I avoided bullies growing up because everyone was scared of Noah Puckerman and he taught me how to fight for myself and how to charm the ladies, that one didn't go so well, but he gets a lot of points for trying to teach me. He might have built up a reputation for himself for a long time, but one thing I can tell you is for certain is that when he and Quinn first met, it was love at first sight. We won't go into all the intricate details, because all that matters is that there isn't anybody else in the world that is more perfect for Puck than Quinn. They balance each other out, she keeps him sane, and he drives her crazy. I promise every single member of the Fabray family and Quinn's friends' circle that she's going to be just fine, because she's married to my best friend. The guy that would do anything to keep the ones he loves close and he will go out of his way to protect not just Quinn, but everyone that means the world to her. She's in good hands and I want to personally welcome you to this big, happy family." Finn grinned as he turned to Puck and Quinn, "You both already know just how happy I am for the both of you and I wish you both the best in everything. I love you two, congratulations."

_**xxx**_

Finn sat off to the side, away from the main table and watched Puck and Quinn on the dance floor and smiled to himself. Quinn looked so happy with Puck that he had to stop and wonder why she had settled for him all those years ago when she had never smiled like that while they were together. He glanced around the room, smiling as his eyes fell on Kurt and Blaine laughing and talking to Harry and Tina, while playing with the little boy in Mike's arms. Nodding as he scanned the room for Rachel, Finn spotted Brittany and Santana sitting together at a table, laughing and holding hands as they sipped on their glasses of champagne and talked to a few other people at their table. He could not remember the last time they were altogether like this and not just as a small group, but as a happy group of people. He smoothed down his jacket as Mercedes walked into the ballroom holding hands with the man he assumed was her husband, and seeing them both look a little flustered made Finn chuckle and cover his mouth. At least someone was having more fun than the bride and groom. Downing what was probably his sixth glass of champagne, Finn leaned back and pushed a hand through his hair, "Best wedding ever."

"You better be saying that with a little more enthusiasm in six months," Finn twisted his head around at the sound of Rachel's voice and smiled with a slight shrug as she wiggled her eyebrows at him, "What are you doing hiding in a corner?"

"I'm not _hiding_; I was just watching everybody else and thinking about how good it feels to have everyone here together again."

"I hope it's like this at our wedding as well."

"It better be, or I'm going to give everybody hell," Finn nodded as he reached for Rachel's hand and gently pulled her towards him, "Where have you been?"

"Playing with Mr. Schuester's kids," Finn smiled up at her as she laced her fingers with his and carefully sat down on his lap, letting her other arm drape around his shoulders, "They insisted on coming to find you and we made a game of it. Looks like I won."

"I don't get it though," Finn shrugged as he placed a hand on Rachel's lower back, "I'm really bad with those kids, but they seem to love me so much."

"I told you, you're good with kids. I just wish you'd realize that as well."

"You think I'm going to be a good dad?"

"You're going to be an amazing dad, Finn. You'll be the kind of dad that our kids _will_ talk about instead of pretending like you don't exist."

"And you're going to be the kind of mom that they will be proud to have. I can picture our kids running around, talking about how their mom is on Broadway and how she's a famous superstar."

"You can picture them, huh?"

"Mhm," smiling up at her, Finn moved his hand to her waist, "A boy and a girl, the cutest things you have ever seen. Our daughter with your beautiful eyes and hair and smile and basically a mini-version of you. And our son will be tall and awkward and dimpled like me."

"I like the sound of that," he kept his eyes on her as she smiled and looked down at their linked hands on her lap, "I can't wait for all of that to happen."

"Soon, I promise."

"Are you planning on getting me pregnant as soon as we're married?"

"It all really depends on your and your…-" Finn waved his hands in the _general_ direction of her lady parts and shrugged, "Your you know what. What is it called?"

"My ovulation cycle?"

"That's it!"

"We'll go see the doctor when we get back, just so that we can be careful not to get too eager when I am ovulating."

"Why?"

"I am not going to be pregnant at my wedding!"

"The wedding is six months away."

"Exactly," Rachel sighed heavily and Finn frowned, not really sure what she was talking about, "If we continue to have sex like we usually do and I am ovulating, then you could get me pregnant without even trying too hard."

"Maybe my sperm isn't as enthusiastic as you think they are."

"Don't your sperm want to get with my eggs?"

"I don't know, I've never really asked them."

"Any sperm would want to get with my eggs," Rachel shrugged matter-of-factly and Finn had to bite down on his lip to stop himself from laughing. But Rachel caught on as his body shook slightly and tugged at the hair on the nape of his neck, "What's so funny?"

"_You're_ having a conversation with me about my sperm not wanting your eggs."

"I think I had one too many glasses of champagne tonight."

"You and me both," Finn looked around, hoping another waiter would come by with more champagne, "Every time someone made a speech, I downed a glass. It's really good champagne."

"And we're old enough to drink without having to sneak around."

"I actually enjoyed the sneaking around. Like that one time Puck threw that party and we got very drunk and tried to sneak into your house really early in the morning only to be caught by your father who was up all night, waiting for you."

"How could you enjoy that?" Finn ducked as much as he could with Rachel on his lap and laughed as she pouted, "I was forbidden from seeing you outside of school for a whole month!"

"You just missed the sex."

"Mostly, because you had just educated me on the wonders of sex with you. But it was difficult being apart for so long."

"It was so totally worth the wait," Finn smiled at the memory and nodded, "We actually got to take that trip to Columbus together without any adult supervision."

"That was a really good trip. I think we should make another trip somewhere soon."

"That sounds good to me. Some of the guys were talking about going to the Hamptons, so we can do that, or we can just drive somewhere together."

"I think I want it to be a trip featuring just you and me."

"To be honest, I like that better than any tagging along with the guys and their girlfriends."

"We can get a room at a nice, but quaint hotel and spend a lot of time in bed together and go for long walks and see the area and consider moving there or something."

"We're talking about the Hamptons, right? Because I don't think I want to leave New York."

"We're never leaving New York," Finn raised his eyebrows as Rachel thought about her words before continuing, "We're never leaving New York unless it's a matter of life and death."

"Gotcha."

"But the Hamptons might be so tempting that we'll want to move there."

"If we make enough money to do so, we'll do it."

"I'm going to be rich and famous one day, we can make it happen."

"Yeah, you are. That day is coming soon, babe."

"Soon," Rachel nodded and Finn smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before leaning in to kiss her.

"I love you."

"I love you more," Finn shook his head at her words and pulled back slightly to look at her, "Deal with it, Finn, I've always loved you."

"We'll talk about this later."

_**xxx**_

They danced for a long time and Finn was proud of himself for not stepping on her toes the whole time and when everyone was completely drunk, Puck got the old gang up onto stage and they all sang _'Don't Stop Believing'_ because it's clearly the one song that kept them together this long. Rachel and Quinn were incredibly drunk and Finn was sure that if it wasn't for Brittany and Santana being just as drunk, there would have been chaos. Funnily enough the group seemed to stay sane when they were drunk together. It came from years of sneaky parties and getting wasted together, obviously. When the _adults_ finally announced that the night needed to wrap up, Puck gathered everyone in for a group photograph and finally let everyone leave when Tina and Mike's kid started squealing. Finn walked everybody out to the taxis waiting to take them home and made sure that the drivers had all the right addresses before going back inside. Puck and Quinn were sitting on a table, limbs all tangled as Quinn fed Puck some cake. She was getting most of it on his face and his Mohawk, but a few random bits managed to find its way into his mouth. The sight caused Finn to chuckle and kept him distracted long enough to not see Rachel come charging at him from the other end of the room. She leaped onto him and Finn stumbled back a few steps as he wrapped his arms around her and held her against him, "Miss Berry."

"Nuh-huh. Future Mrs. Hudson."

"Right," Finn chuckled softly as she smiled through her drunken haze, "Future Mrs. Hudson, how much have you had to drink tonight?"

"Not enough."

"That is crystal clear."

"I want you to take advantage of me right this minute."

"We're in public, Rach."

"Puck and Quinn are not _public_, they're our best friends."

"Which is even worse."

"Baby…."

"No."

"Quinn's going to get married sex tonight and I won't get anything."

"What?"

"Will I get sex when we get home?"

"That is a possibility," Finn looked at the _Puckermans_ as they fed each other cake and shook his head before turning his attention back to Rachel, "Yes, Rachel, you'll get sex when we get home."

"Good," he arched an eyebrow as she growled before kissing him hard enough to knock him back a few more steps, "Because I took my panties off somewhere and I can't find them anymore."

"You what?"

"I lost my panties," Finn stared at Rachel as she giggled and wriggled out of his arms. He kept his eyes on her in shock as she ran over to where Puck and Quinn were _finally_ done eating cake and jumped onto the table as Puck hopped off of it. Finn blinked a few times and sat down as Puck walked over to him and handed him a glass of champagne.

"What happened to you?"

"My fiancée is drunk and horny and missing a very important piece of her clothing."

"It's not just your girl, man," Finn looked up at Puck with an arched eyebrow, "All the girls took off at some point and came back without their panties. Apparently it's a new tradition."

"_All of them_ took their panties off?"

"That's what Quinn told me. You better be ready for this shit to happen at your wedding too."

"My biggest concern is getting through the reception while Rachel walks around without panties on under her wedding gown," Finn closed his eyes and moved the champagne glass along his forehead.

"Think of it this way. You're the one she's taking them off for and a few hours after everyone's gone, you get to take the rest of her clothes off."

"She's jealous that Quinn gets married sex tonight and she doesn't."

"Quinn is getting _way_ more than just married sex, dude."

"Now we're crossing into _too much information_ territory, control yourself."

"Whatever," Finn smiled as Puck laughed and downed his champagne, "Come on, let's go make sure our girls don't drink anymore, because I am not going to be getting any sex if Quinn downs another glass of champagne."

_**xxx**_

By the time Finn gets them home, Rachel is passed out on the back seat and snoring. He's pretty sure she's also drooling, but he can't be sure. He sees the light in the living room on and wonders if his mother or Burt stayed up, waiting for them, but he's pretty sure that nobody would still be doing that considering how old they are now. He cradles her in his arms and smiles as she buries her face in his neck and wraps an arm around his shoulders, a happy sigh escaping her lips. Just as he steps into the house, Kurt appears out of nowhere with a glass of water and a pill that he insists Rachel must take so she doesn't wake up with a hangover. Kurt follows Finn up the stairs to his bedroom, rambling on about how amazing the wedding was and doesn't stop talking till he puts Rachel down on the bed. Clearly Kurt had too much to drink because Finn can see his eyes darting around like a crazy person and if that wasn't enough, the fact that he can't stop talking was enough reason to believe that he had one too many glasses of champagne. Finn lets him talk as he hangs up his jacket and rummages through his bag for clean boxers and when Kurt finally stops talking, Finn looks up at him, "What?"

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying."

"I'm sorry, I'm really tired and I just want to sleep."

"Fine, just make sure Rachel has this, or she's going to be bitchy and whiney in the morning."

"Thanks Kurt," he takes the pill and the glass of water and sets it on the bedside table, "For everything."

"It's the least I can do as your brother. Sleep tight."

It takes him forever to get Rachel out of her dress and into one of his old McKinley High t-shirts, but he enjoys every minute of it. Especially since she's mumbling about the wedding as he strips her naked and forces the pill down her throat before pulling his t-shirt over her head. The minute he tucks her under the sheets, she's asleep and snoring again. And this time he's sure that she's drooling because it's everywhere and it smells like champagne. Finn slides into bed beside her and tucks an arm under his head as he lets the events of the day run through his mind like a movie reel. Watching Puck and Quinn get married was pretty amazing and it was even more amazing because he had been there with them right from the start. He feels Rachel stir beside him and Finn opens his eyes to look at her as she lazily opens her eyes, "Hi."

"Hey, why are you awake?"

"You promised me sex and I didn't get any."

"I promise you morning sex?"

"Okay, fine."

"I love you, Rachel."

"I love you more, Finn," he catches her smile as she closes her eyes and drifts back to sleep and nods to himself. She did love him longer than he loved her, but that does not define the amount someone loves someone else. But he lets that slide because he loves her more than enough to let her have that much.


End file.
